Prime's Number
by Dena Gray
Summary: Movieverse complete. Optimus is on a mission to retrieve Megatron's body from the hidden lab that has acquired it for private experimentation. He finds SO much more along the way! Read the LAST CHAPTER!
1. Chapter 1: Bothered

_**10/14/08** --This story is purely told from Optimus' point of view. I do not own Transformers and make no money off any of this! I do have an OC in this story, but she's more a catalyst than a hero. My main focus is to shake Prime up and serve him to his weaknesses ;) Warning: later chapters DO involve suggestive BDSM, mech/mech slash and possibly confusing material. When I first wrote this, I didn't have as good of an understanding of the TF world, so hopefully this edit will serve to correct those errors. _

_Any chapter not date-stamped after 10/14 has not been updated._

_**A/N: The story is technically finished, but I'm going back and tweaking the chapters a bit, helping it to flow more. Hope you like! Let me know what you think :D**_

**Chapter 1**

* * *

"So you're the big guy, huh?"

He knelt down to see her more clearly. "I am Optimus Prime, yes."

"Huh. Always, or is there a nickname?"

His apertures sized up the impertinent human. She was so very small to have such bravado, but his experience had proven that was true for most of the human race. "Some call me Prime."

"Is that your choice or theirs?"

There was an implications amidst her sentence that he was missing the meaning to. Hesitantly, he answered, "Theirs."

He must have answered the right way, for her mouth formed what he had come to know as a grin. The spark in her eyes made him apprehensive. It might be a mistake to guard this human. The other bots seemed to assimilate to the human culture better than he. They knew how to handle humans and their innuendos. So far, he had seen admirable qualities in the male of the species, but a female seemed to generate…trouble. The two days he'd spent with her so far made him cautiously willing to drive her to the observatory.

"So. You gonna just stand there all in the third atmosphere, or are you gonna turn into that hunkin' hot semi and take me to the observatory?"

"I—what?" He knew the meaning behind her language, but for such innuendo to spout from an organic towards him was disturbing. He shook his massive head and transformed. Oddly, he was pleased the spark in her eye as she watched him complete the change. Air brakes shivered involuntarily.

"Can I get in now?"

He almost wanted to say no, but that wouldn't help their task. Hesitantly, he replied, "Climb up."

"Boy, do I want to."

If his head wasn't stationary, he'd swing around to stare incredulously, questioningly. Not since Elita had he felt such a spark-pulse, and it was for the impossibility of an organic.

He couldn't help but rev his engine when she settled into the driver's seat. It would have been so much better if she'd chosen the passenger side, but not this one. He had no idea the leather on his seats was so sensitive, or that she would be so warm.

He needed to snap out of it. There was no way he could make the five hundred mile drive to the larger observatory if he was distracted by the feel of an organic in his cab. His smokestacks shot steam. What was she doing?

She was…caressing his steering wheel.

"Stop that." He made sure to rumble his voice a little louder than necessary.

"You don't want me to look like I'm driving?"

"No, not if you're going to do that."

"What?" There was no innocence in her tone.

Oh, she was trouble. He opened his frequency to call for Bumblebee, Ironhide…somebody…anybody else, when she did something to his gear shift.

"You want me to stop this?"

"YES! I can't mobilize if you're distracting me." Oh no. No. That must have been the wrong thing to say. "S-stop. Please. We need to go and I need to shift."

Oh how they would laugh at their fearless leader…

With one final slide of what he assumed was her hand up the long shaft of the shifter, she settled back into the seat and put on the seatbelt. "Okay. Lay on, Macduff."

He withheld a shiver, shifted up and started rolling, reading his internal memory for a map to the observatory and a reference to the Macduff she spoke of. He found both. Thankfully, it seemed a proper topic. "You speak of a character from a long dead and revered writer."

"I'm not just a pretty face, you know. I have some intelligence."

There was umbrage in her voice that seemed to want some kind of reassurance. "I—uh. You seem to affect male humans with the proper mating response…" At least that's what the other humans in the camp had expressed after she was discovered hiding among the shrubbery, listening to their plans.

He could hear the pleasure in her voice. "Thank you, Prime. I do believe that was a compliment." He also heard the extra purr she gave his name. If he wasn't careful, he'd strip his gears. He settled in for the long drive.

* * *

So. Stay tuned and I'll be periodically editing the chappies, though I won't change it drastically. Thanks to everyone who's been reading this story and to everyone who reviewed! I'd like to know what people think of the story, so if you feel like commenting, I'd be glad to hear it ;) I wish to give a special thanks here to Yiggersentia for all of her support and suggestions, making everything after about chapter 13 really interesting! I claim all mistakes as my own!


	2. Chapter 2: Bewitched

_**Edited: 10/26/08**_

_Didn't change much, but it flows a bit better. I hope you like it! The songs are listed at the end. I own nothing but that which comes out of my head original, and that's Mercedes, so far. :D I make no money (at this at least)_

_

* * *

Chapter Two  
_

Optimus knew that Mercedes wouldn't stay quiet and still the entire trip, but she made a credible effort for the first ten minutes. It took credible effort to not cringe when she did speak.

"So why do you need me to watch the stars? I'd think you guys wouldn't need a human for that."

Ah, a safe subject. He relaxed, albeit not much. "Starscream was last seen leaving the earth's atmosphere and is possibly attempting to bring back…other Decepticons. We need someone who knows the stars from this vantage to look for any evidence of their arrival. Since your stargazing brought you so conveniently across our path, we needn't look far." He couldn't keep a small amount of censure out of his tone, rumbling through the cab over her small frame. She had spied them from the rooftop of the nearby university when she had apparently been attempting what she called homework, looking for anomalies…something she'd claimed to have found.

Fortunately, that happened while they were planning their next move. So far, she'd proven useful, albeit a bit disturbing.

"I thought with Megatron gone that you guys didn't have to worry anymore."

He let off the gas and shifted down without thinking. It had been two weeks since his brother died. Or had he? There was still that report of an alien robot in a mountain laboratory… He shifted back up and refocused. First things first. "There is another who vied for control of the Decepticons. Omega-Six is behind Megatron's betrayal of our kind, and the bigger threat. Since there is a small piece to the All-Spark left, he will stop at nothing to regain it."

"_Re_-gain it?"

If his jaw wasn't wrapped around the bottom of a Peterbuilt's engine, he'd be grinding it. "Yes. He was the one who stole it from our government in the first place." He left out the part where Omega tried to use the Cube to obliterate the Cybertronian government, eventually succeeding through more manipulative methods. It still wasn't stable and here he was, flung across the universe because he'd only been trying to keep the All-Spark from Omega in the first place.

"Why?"

He thought back to all the reasons that twisted red and black mech would have to destroy everything to do with the Cybertronians Optimus cared for. Elita's death seemed to be the beginning. Even amongst the sentience and wisdom of thousands of years, greed and jealousy remained. He just couldn't figure out how his actions had led Omega to believe it was better to destroy their entire way of life…

She ran her fingers over the center hub of the steering wheel when he didn't respond. "Prime?"

He sent an irritated and responsive ripple up the leather seats. "I told you not to do that."

She kept doing it. "Why would this Omega character be so bent on screwing with everything?"

"H-He's not." Primus-damned soft digits…

She wrapped the fingers of both hands around the steering column. "You know I won't let you finish your answer with that."

That's it! He slapped his brakes quickly to jolt her.

"Oh!"

He had no idea his seatbelt had so many sensory preceptors, the slide of her softness purring air out of his jake-brakes again. Thank Sentience, a conveniently deserted truck stop ahead. He stopped hard. "Get out."

Her fingers gripped. "Pardon?" Slaggit.

"I want to look at you when I redress you."

"Oh! Well, then, why didn't you say so."

Why did he get the feeling he'd said something other than what he'd meant? She slid down to the step-side, hopped to the ground and jumped back as he immediately transformed to stand before her.

Careful to drop down below the tree line, he peered down to the bothersome Mercedes. "Let me make myself perfectly clear. Do not touch anything on me without my permission."

He watched several emotions play over her face. Thankfully, she settled on consternation. "I can't help it."

Couldn't…? "It's easy. Just keep your hands to yourself."

"It's not that easy. I've always been infatuated with machines. Ask anyone who knows me. I'd sooner lust after Data than Worf any day."

He took a moment to research the meanings of these names. "This Data. He is a character on a fictional television program?"

"Yeah."

Optimus was surprised by what he discovered. On the web, there were fan sites for these characters with women proclaiming sexual desire for them. Data was a machine…

His smoke stacks shot steam again. The human body was a complex organic machine. What would happen if…?

He shook his head and transformed back into the rig. His voice came out rougher and deeper than normal: "Get in."

She surprised him by complying, but the second she settled into his seat, he growled.

"I didn't do anything," she protested.

"I know. Just—do as I ask…Please. We have a long way to go."

"I know, I know. Don't touch anything unless you say its okay."

"Good."

"Can I turn on the radio?"

He grudged out a yes.

"Thank you."

He didn't reply, but anticipated her tiny digits touching his dials. Before she had a chance to touch anything, he'd already tuned to a rather sad song he'd been monitoring:

_When the world's gone crazy and it makes no sense; And there's only one voice that comes to your defense. The jury's out and your eyes search the room; And one friendly face is all you need to see. And if there's one guy, just one guy; Who'd lay down his life for you and die, I hate to say it, I hate to say it, but it's probably me..._

He immediately tuned out to another station. Instrumental was always neutral.

"Well, are you going to let me choose what I want to listen to, or are you just going to control that as well?"

He was relieved she didn't understand the slip up humans called Freudian.

"Sorry. Go ahead."

She turned the dial from his choice to "_your body is a wonderland_" to "_crush_". He would have sighed, but settled for steam and shifted into a highway gear, ready for a long drive. She surprised him by finally stopping on a slower song that started out "_At last."_

Mercedes wiggled into the seat and took off her shoes, curling into the overly sensitive leather. He wondered as he listened to the lyrics if she meant anything by the song or if it was a simple selection, waiting to see if she would change the station when the song was over. She didn't. _Give me a kiss to build a dream on… _

It didn't mean anything. He ignored the music and paid attention to driving. He felt her hands settle against the leather and pushed on.

_First song: Sting – It's Probably Me_

_Then, in order: John Meyer – Your Body is a Wonderland; Jennifer Paige – Crush; Etta James – At Last; and finally, Louis Armstrong – A Kiss to Build a Dream On_


	3. Chapter 3: Bewildered

_11/05/08_

_Welcome to a new world, my friends! (note the date) Anyway, I've edited this chappie within an inch of it's life, but really only added a bit and cleaned it up. Hope you like it! I don't own any of this, except for Mercedes—she's mine. But that's it. No money, sadly. On with the show!_

* * *

She wouldn't stop shifting around. He could tell from her breathing pattern that she'd fallen into a sleep and was relieved at the break from her questing hands and impertinent questions.

Of course, his reprieve wouldn't last long. A long-suffering sigh made its way out of his steam vents. He couldn't help from shuddering when her hand fell onto his gear shift, coasting for a few seconds, holding his fuel, hoping she was still asleep. He let go and continued driving when her hand stayed still. As long as she wasn't doing anything suggestive, he could…endure.

Except she started sliding her hand over the grip again. "Mercedes…" He sensed her breathing pattern. She seemed asleep.

Except for the moaning…"Oh, yes. Oh Prime. Oooooooh…" She writhed in the seat and made him curious where her other hand disappeared to. His name coming from her like that when she was obviously asleep...his engine revved a bit higher. Was that her knee against his gear shift?

He twisted the rear view mirror, the one thing he'd carefully avoided angling towards her. She saw the movement and giggled into the mirror, descending into rolling fits of laughter. She yawned and chuckled as he growled his engine at her.

"Why do you insist on distracting me?"

"I'm sorry, I can't help it. You're just so" Another yawn, "…stuffy. I have no one else to talk to, to keep me awake."

Stuffy? He saw a motel sign off the next exit. If she was that tired, she needed to sleep. In a bed. And not a truck bed. Especially his truck bed.

"We have time. We don't expect any activity this soon. You should probably rest. Really."

"No! It's only another couple hours or so. I didn't think you Autobots got ti—ti—tired." She stuttered on a yawn.

He remembered that she'd been traveling with his group for two days before they split apart out of necessity. She'd mainly ridden with Ratchet before, and he really wasn't sure how he felt about that, but they'd been traveling straight through to get to the largest observatory which, by his calculations, should be in a few hours. He didn't like to admit it, but they'd been inconsiderate of the humans traveling with them. Another sigh out of steam vents. "We don't. Not really. But while I can keep going, you probably need more sleep and in a place more comfortable to the human body than a driver's seat."

She thought about that for a moment and then looked irritated. "I will if you will."

A chuckle escaped, "I'm a little big to fit in a motel…in case you haven't noticed." Not to mention he needed a break from her constantly traveling hands. Right now they were running along the dash. Did she see the instruments go haywire under her touch?

Her voice was oddly hesitant. "What—what about the cube?"

The motel. Finally. He rolled to a stop. "What about it?" He knew where her logic was going since his had traveled there as well.

"It was able to condense down to a tiny fraction of its original size. Mathematically, it's not impossible…"

"I…have never seen the algorithm performed by an Autobot…" But that didn't mean it couldn't happen.

"So?" She opened the cab door and slipped down to the ground. Was there anything not suggestive about her? He quickly transformed and knelt to look down at her. No fear. Not even at his most intimidating. Oddly, the heat only grew between them. Her eyes wandered over his frame. "Try it." Her voice was husky and laden with interest.

He stopped fighting himself and searched his programming for the knowledge to transform into a human-sized being. He scanned her anatomy for further clues and was surprised to find some…machinery? "You…are partly robotic?"

She looked as surprised as he felt, maybe even a bit wary. "Yes, I am. How did you know?"

"I was scanning your frame for clues to the transformation when I sensed machinery. Your left shoulder, your pelvic region, a hip and a knee…Why?"

She stared, clearly dumbfounded. "I was in a car accident last year. It's why I'm infatuated with machines. You have x-ray vision or something?" She took a step forward and peered into his apertures, though they were too big and too far apart to see at the same time.

Her proximity…it was silly that he wanted to either back away or get closer. "It is a scanning mechanism that allows me to see layers of matter. It does not use radiation, but has a similar result. I see many complexities in the human form that may allow the transformation. I will try."

Optimus looked around to make sure there was no one nearby on this windowless side of the building, stood and shuddered. He planned out the algorithms that would allow the compaction of his frame. Once he turned it into mathematics, he saw how it was possible. Metal framework and truck parts shifted down. And down and down. Piece upon piece folded in upon itself until he stood as small as he allowed himself to get, about nine feet tall. Any smaller and he was afraid he wouldn't be able to transform back out.

He looked around at his new perspective. His body was hard and compact, but closer to human than he'd ever dreamed possible. He dared a look at Mercedes.

She stood with her hands over her mouth…such a look in her eyes. He didn't know whether she was ready to scream or cry or…well, he had no idea how she was responding. Perhaps even this bold and mechanically fascinated creature could not handle such an alien thing as him. He'd dared a glimmer of hope, but…

Her shaky voice interrupted his downward thoughts. "Can—can I touch you now? Please?" Her voice was raw with emotion. What he'd begun to think of as dawning horror he now realized was…not.

He breathed out a yes and stepped towards her, this glowing spark of a human who seemed to be drawn to him…always touching him.

Her hand trembled as she gently reached up to lay it against his face. Her head only came to his chest plates, so he bent to let her reach her goal.

Curious, he reached out with his digits and gently, gently brushed the cloth on her shoulder. His sensory preceptors were incredibly compact and dangerously active. "Is touch this small always so filled with sensation? I can feel the smallest change in texture." It was intoxicating…he wanted to touch everything…

She smiled at his question. "I think so. As you said, humans are incredibly complex." Her hand ran over his cheek, against his neck and down to his shoulder.

He shuddered. "No wonder you're always touching things. That…feels…"

Her hand lifted in surprise. "You couldn't feel someone touch you before?"

"Not this…intensely." He brought his other hand up to her hair, curious about the texture and how it would feel. "Does this hurt you?"

Her eyes had closed when he carefully brushed his palm to her scalp. "No…but perhaps we should…" her breath shivered, "go inside…" She opened her eyes, looking at him with...

He was millions of years old in earth time and was no fool. They were both caught up in the moment, both riddled with emotion wrought from their own loneliness and proximity.

He had to proceed very carefully from this moment on. This human was…different.


	4. Chapter 4: The Change

_11/7/08_

_Okay, I altered a few sentences, and one word which changed quite a bit. If you're not paying attention, which I'm sure there are many of you that aren't, then you won't even notice LOL. Luv y'all and happy reading!_

* * *

That same time that had blessed him with wisdom had also taught him that happiness was a fleeting thing. If Elita's death and the resulting hatred from Omega-Six had any lasting impression on him, it was that he needed to take what he wanted and not hold back. His hesitation had killed Elita. His honor had cost him his brother. He would not lose this gift. She may not exactly feel what he perceived…but he'd be damned if he didn't find out for himself. "I'll be but a moment. Wait here."

He could tell she wanted to argue, but his quiet request had made her compliant. He slipped quietly to the main office and hacked their computers. Using an account the humans had set up for their expenses, he procured her a residence for the night and slipped quietly back out with a card key. He was amazed by the stealth this new size allowed him.

And completely shocked when Mercedes was nowhere to be seen.

He quickly scanned the parking lot and found her face down on the other side of an old Impala. A further scan showed no other sentience in the open area, so he softened his guard and ran to her side. "Mercedes?"

Her eyes lolled back in her head. To all appearances, she'd fainted. He lifted her into his arms, went to the room and laid her out on the first bed. Where was Ratchet when he was needed? Of course, he wouldn't call him away from their part of the mission. Finding out what was in that lab was imperative. He let out a sigh as he noted she was breathing fine. Her eyes fluttered open. "Mercedes, what happened?" No response came immediately and when he looked to her eyes, they sent a shiver over his plating. They glowed blue, like his apertures… How?

A strange version of her voice rolled out of her mouth into the room. "Greatest Leader. You must awaken the Spark within this being. She brings the key to defeating the Sixth End. He is coming."

Optimus staggered back as the blinding blue light faded from Mercedes' eyes. "How—what—?"

"Prime?" She looked around the room, blinked, and settled her gaze on him.

He just stared. What just happened? "Mercedes…how do you feel?" He wanted to touch her again, but hearing the Prophetess after all this time made him afraid to touch her.

"Fine. How did I get in here?" She looked around again and settled a smile on him. It faded when he didn't return the sentiment. "What happened?"

"You—have you ever fainted like that before?"

Surprise flitted across her features but turned to grim acceptance. "What did she say?"

Optimus was so shocked he bent the bed almost in two sitting down. "I'll tell you that when you tell me what she's said before. And when."

Mercedes sat up on the bed, swinging her legs over the edge. "I knew you were coming. I knew all of you were coming…I dreamed of you for weeks."

"Us? Me?"

"You, Greatest Leader. You." She slid down the side of the bed and knelt before him. "Isn't that what your name means?"

His apertures had a hard time focusing on her. So many revelations in such a short time. She'd dreamed of him?

"Right after the surgery, I had a hard time recovering. The nurses kept me in a safe ward because I would speak strangely and scare other patients with what I'd said. But it was Her. I asked the nurses to record her. Whoever she is came to me in that surgery, somehow, and foretold of a great leader from the sky. The leader I was destined to…" She swallowed, looked down, then back up again, "…help."

He knew that her last word wasn't her original choice, but hearing the Prophetess again…they had all thought she was lost with the All-Spark. Apparently she had come to earth as well. But why? How did she come to this woman?

Mercedes tentatively placed her hands on his human-like thighs and looked up at him from between his knees. "What did she say, this time?"

Optimus hadn't a chance to respond. The small fragment of the All-Spark grew hot in the compartment he kept it in. It was thankfully easy to reach and he wondered at the engineering of this body size. It glowed and sparked in his hand but he was watching Mercedes. She looked entranced.

Her fingers hovered above it and his hand for a moment before the fragment lifted on its own to go to her. Her hands came up to cup it between her palms and her eyes glowed blue again as the Spark-shard burned into her hold. She was obviously in pain but wouldn't let go. "Mercedes, what's happening?"

"Optimus!" Hearing his first name from her was a shock to his system, like a key in a tumbler that fit, turning everything right. He held her burning, glowing hands between his own and did the only thing he could think of. He met his mouth to hers.

An Autobot kiss was not a soft thing, but a further extension of the Spark within…electricity and conduction, a power surge between them. Every perceptor on his frame went haywire.

He couldn't explain what happened after that. The only thing he could see was a bright blue glow and the only thing he could hear was Mercedes screaming. It tore his anima to shreds.

The glow slowly faded. His apertures were blinded from the flash, the only sound her whimpers filtering through his shock. "Mercedes…"

She felt different in his hands. He ran his too-sensitive fingers across her arms and heard the scratch of metal against metal. He could see! He looked down at this creature that had so quickly become important to his cause.

And saw apertures. "What?"

"Optimus…I feel…strange."

She blinked at him, confused. "I sound strange."

"Stand." He helped her to her feet. He stepped away in shock and wonder, seeing he was not the only being to transform at this motel. "You're…like me." Fear and awe consumed him. What did this mean? The last shard of the All-Spark was inside her now.

He'd never dreamed a human could become one of his kind.

She stared at her hands, now jointed and riveted like his, then turned to look in the mirror on the wall. "I'm—I'm a…"

"Yes."

"How?"

He was at a loss to answer. Fear, wonder, curiosity and loss filled her voice with emotion. It made his spark ache in compassion.

He offered his hand, implicitly asking her trust. "Come with me. We need to find your alternate form." She took his hand and walked outside with him.

"Do you see a vehicle that would fit your size and personality? Something you like?"

She hesitated. "Whatever I choose, that's it forever?"

Good, she was allowing him to distract her from the bigger, unanswerable questions at hand. "No. There is always the possibility of change, but we usually stay in one shape on this planet."

She looked around at the cars in the parking lot. She started walking towards…he chuckled…what else? A Mercedes. It was a rather pleasant looking Kompressor. "So, what do I do?"

"Can you think about searching the entire vehicle for all the shapes and textures? Just with your apertures?"

She stumbled back, startled. Apparently, she could scan the vehicle. A look of concentration settled on her face, then those focused optics looked at him when he assumed she finished. "All right, now what?"

It was rather exciting to see this for the first time in a very long time. "Can you process the information you just downloaded and create the algorithms to complete the change?"

Her apertures narrowed in thought. He watched her first change with caution. She took to the transformations well.

Now if only they could reason why she was so suddenly changed, and what made her key in defeating Omega-Six…


	5. Chapter 5: Configuration

**A/N: This is a different tack than I'd been taking before, so some of it's new! Yay! Thanks for reading!**

"This is amazing. How will this affect my lifespan?"

"As long as you are functional, you will live…but…"

She transformed back from the Kompressor. "But what?"

"You asked what the Prophetess said." He took her hand and pulled her inside. There were so many questions shifting through his mind. "You took the last remaining piece of the All-Spark inside you when you became an Autobot."

She backed away. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that would happen."

"It's all right. It was fated that way. The Prophetess said to awaken the All-Spark within you. She said you were the key to defeating Omega-Six. I think…because of this…that you may have become the All-Spark."

She stumbled on her new feet. "I—I don't know how to respond to that. What does that mean?"

"It means that you have become what we have not seen in many millennia. You are the Intuition to my Matrix." She looked at him skeptically.

"Again, what does that mean?"

What words could describe it? "We Autobots haven't had the Matrix and the Intuition joined in over thirty-five thousand earth years."

Her shoulders slumped and she projected a very human expression of annoyance towards him. "I'm gonna go out on a limb, here. This is something that can help your people?"

He wasn't transferring the importance of this to her, but he was afraid of telling her what it all might mean. His people…Cybertron…everything Omega had already torn apart could be reversed, corrected.

"Mercedes, this is a very great discovery. Our world is dead. My br—" No, that was too much information. "Life can be recreated. Information I did not know to access in the Matrix will be restored by the Intuition."

"This Matrix is a big thing, huh?"

"It is all the collective knowledge of our past leaders for hundreds of millennia."

She posed in thought. "I'm the Intuition?"

"I believe so." He did and didn't like that her mind worked so quickly.

She started pacing. "I'm assuming you're the Matrix, or you have it, or something?"

"It is a part of me until I relinquish leadership, yes." She stopped and stared at him, then started pacing again.

"I have another question that leads to, but first, the Matrix and the Intuition are supposed to be joined for…proper leadership?" He was beginning to understand her hand-language. She was at as much a loss for words as he was.

"Yes. What was the other question?" He braced himself. She'd come too far in her logic to mistake the proportions of this discovery. What if she didn't want to?

And then she said it: "What happens to me if I don't want to be part of a leadership?"

He thought about the implications. Did she not want to? Or was she simply analyzing the situation? He tried to be as clear as possible. "The Intuition, like the Matrix, will die without a proper host. Just as I was chosen by unforeseen circumstances to be leader to my people, you have been chosen to match that leadership with guidance."

"Good gravy. This is a bit fast." She sat on the bed, surprised when it almost gave out from her weight. "Can we slow down, here?"

"I'm sorry. The Prophetess chose this time to reveal your significance to us. She said that Omega-Six was coming. That means we no longer have the luxury of time. We must transmit to the others our news and rendezvous to prepare for battle."

"Battle? I saw what happened to Mission City on the news. It was devastating."

"It is unfortunate that our war must come to your—this—planet, but if we leave…that only gives Omega-Six the ability to completely decimate it. We must defend Earth or leave the humans to suffer the consequences."

"I—I see." After several minutes had passed, she stood and approached Optimus. Her apertures narrowed, but her decision had been made. He waited…"What can I do to help?"

His shoulders relaxed to the point that he almost lost balance. She would try. "That's a difficult question to answer, since we don't know your abilities as an Autobot yet. Your use as a human has become moot, unfortunately. We still need someone to watch the skies."

"I can remedy that." She went over to the phone and picked up the receiver. "Ow!"

"What?"

"The phone shrieked in my ear as if I were a microphone."

"In a way, you probably are."

"So how do I call my friend at the observatory to ask him to do this for us?"

"Mercedes…you are now the transmitter. Your apertures can become a computer screen, just think about what you need and it should show up as if you're looking at it."

She closed her apertures and reopened them. "I guess I can type by thinking about it, too?"

"Yes."

"He's online. Great." Optimus watched this amazingly adaptive creature before him take to being an Autobot as if she were created for it. "I can type much faster now. This is cool. He said he'd do it." He transmitted a message to the other Autobots and received some surprise and skepticism. Best to keep the biggest surprise for when they can see her.

"I know it's a bit late to ask, but can we trust him?" Shock must have rusted his usual precaution. He'd been less and less cautious around and because of Mercedes.

"Yeah. I know a little too much about his own personal use of the observatory. He'll be good. I asked him to email me immediately when he sees anything."

"Blackmail is not the most trustworthy method of gaining information."

"I know. But who else was I gonna ask?"

He nodded in resignation. "I know."

"So…" She walked back up to him. "What are we to do now?"

"I transmitted our information to the other Autobots while you were contacting your friend. We will meet with them seventy five miles south of here and regroup."

"When?" Her apertures focused on his mouth.

"We should leave now." His internal spark flared. With her, he could finally protect his people. He was excited and afraid of the outcome…and by her.


	6. Chapter 6: The Joining

"Why did you kiss me

"Why did you kiss me? Before? We hardly know each other."

"I—I'm sorry. I didn't—?"

"Shhh. It's okay." She placed a metal digit over his mouth. "I liked it…but why?"

"I'm not sure…" How could he tell her that the last prediction the Prophetess made was about this moment? How could he say that to her when he was unsure about the exact prediction? The Intuition was not part of the Matrix core knowledge and the war amongst the Autobots gave many a reason to corrupt that information.

He decided to stay on the most direct answer. "It was as if I should. Pain can sometimes be subsided by a shock."

She smiled. "That was definitely a shock. I never pegged you one for kissing."

Primus, it had been great, though. Bits and pieces of him were still tingling with little surprises. He looked down at her, consigning himself to the fate of the prophecy. She raised her hands, as if she wanted to touch him again. He rested his palms against hers before she could.

Little sizzling pinpricks danced up his arms. He might regret changing back to his larger size. Every moment spent like this, with her, made life that much more interesting. So many battles for such a long time…

"Yesss…" He breathed out in a hiss as her hands…her continuously questing hands…wandered over his frame. He stopped her hands at his abdominal section.

"I have to admit…I'm surprised I can still feel…desire. I wouldn't think Autobots had that kind of response. You seem to, but…"

"We love and desire. We do not consummate the relationship the way humans do, but we have our way of sharing…each other."

"How—?" She shook her head and tried to pull away. He held her arms fast. "I'm not sure if it's decent for me to ask. I'm sorry." He was surprised at her sudden modesty. From the beginning of their short journey, she had shocked him with her boldness and innuendo. Now here she was, shy and confused.

"No, it's fine. It is a very personal thing, but it is not as intimate as the human way." He searched his memory for the right way to explain. "We…share our spark. It is not purely for couples, but mothers and children…the closest friends. Sharing the spark in our chest is a deep communion between two Bots, reserved for special moments."

"I—well…isn't this a special moment? Aren't we…friends?" Curiosity mingled with so much more in her visage. He had to admit to himself that he was curious as well…what would it be like to join the Matrix with the Intuition? Infinite knowledge and wisdom…

"We are." He looked down into her apertures and felt his chest spark open, reaching for hers. He felt the urge to kiss her again. This time, it was she that reached up to meet vocal transmitters and this time, there was a slight pull to his power.

Well, that was unexpected.

He could see the blue glow surrounding them. It had been so long since he'd shared this with any other Bot, he'd forgotten how charging it was…but this was even more than he remembered. He felt more of his frame open up…somehow she was pulling energy from him.

Optimus started to pull back, but she held on. She followed him, pulling and pulling until a whirlwind of energy swirled between them. She started giving back. She gave back more than she took. How? Where was it coming from?

No! She was going to drain herself!

The Prophetess' voice rang into the room: "Prime, do not fight her. Do not fight me."

What was he to do? The Matrix had no answers. He closed his apertures and held still.

"Optimus?" Mercedes. She sounded afraid. That, more than anything, made him give over. The charge between them started both their engines which turned the energy to sparkling lightning in a halo around them. His tires started spinning on his hips and all six pistons fired harder than he'd ever pushed them.

"M-m-m-m-m-erced-d-des…"

"I can't—I c-can't—stop!"

Glass popped. His frame magnetized from the static electricity generated between them and clicked into hers, throwing his cams to spin harder. Pistons slammed against her from the centrifugal force. Primus, what was happening? Was this the joining?

Oh, that was…new. The Matrix mainframe opened and a vast landscape spread before his internal memory. He saw Cybertron…he saw…life.

This was it, this was the joining…how did this feel to her? What was the Intuition like?

An image of Mercedes rippled onto the landscape. "Optimus? Where am I?"

He tried to answer but couldn't. He watched her walk around on the metal surface of Cybertron, little spikes popping up in her wake. She reached down to touch one and a static spark jumped between her finger and the spike. She stumbled back and they both watched as the spike grew, split into parts, and assimilated into a botling.

He gasped and she looked around for him. "Optimus."

They were ripped out of the landscape by an overwhelming surge of power between them. A vortex of lightning built and danced and writhed all around their bodies. Their pistons charged like hammers, faster and faster, building the static electricity between them…until…until…

A shockwave blew out from their bodies, destroying the front of the motel room and cracking the walls and ceiling around them.

Optimus' mind wrapped around what they'd just done. His parts moved back in place as he backed away from Mercedes, backed away from the singed carpet beneath them. She dropped to her knees.

What had they done?

What had _he_ done?

He had to tell her, she had to know, "That's never…we did it. We joined the Matrix and the Intuition." She wasn't moving. "Mercedes?" He knelt to her. "Mercedes?"

He watched in fear as her inner spark shivered. What had he done? He started an internal memory search for information on what to do to fix her while running diagnostics on her frame.

His search was screaming through his head, faster and faster, desperately searching for an answer when he saw her apertures flutter. He held his breath. She moaned and turned her head. Could she be okay? He watched her Inner Spark steady with growing relief.

"Mercedes? Can you hear me?"

"Op—Op—Optimus…" She smiled a little. "What happened?" He searched for the right words. She seemed to always rob him of speech. "Don't tell me friends and children do _that_?" She laughed.

She would be fine. She'd laughed. He relaxed. "No. They don't. I feel I owe you an apology. I didn't know it would happen so soon. Are you all right?"

She raised up to a taller kneel. "I'm…fine…more than fine. I feel…" She shivered over her entire frame. "Energized."

She looked up at him kneeling beside her. "If that's not what normally happens, then why did it happen?" He knew his guilt was evident on his features for she immediately amended, "Not that I'm complaining…but…"

"It was time, I suppose. We produced an amazing amount of energy, though." He looked around the room, out to the ruined façade of the building. "I'm surprised no one has come to look for the cause of the explosion."

"That is odd…maybe they're afraid."

"We should leave."

"Not without making amends."

"You're right. We can't leave it like this, but we don't have that much money."

She looked at him oddly. "We're robots. Can't we fix it?"

"We can't fix this kind of damage without tearing down the building and recreating it. That, and I'm not sure I want others to know about you, yet." He looked at her helplessly. Why did he feel the separation so keenly between them?

His audible receptors picked up on movement outside. "Quickly. We need to head outside and transform before they see us."

"What?"

"Just do as I ask! We'll make amends, somehow, but I need to protect you first."

She slipped out and he followed. They ran to the end of the walkway and around the side of the building just before two men rounded the other corner. He turned to see her already transformed into the Kompressor. "Stay here. I'm going to recon."

He heard her sigh in frustration as he climbed the building to the roof. Thankfully she stayed in hiding. He listened in on the conversation below him.

"—a mess, Saari. What—how can we fix this?"

"Are you kidding me? I've been waiting for something like this to happen. I took out a million dollar insurance policy on this place. We'll be rich, Masad."

Well, that took care of that. Optimus climbed down to Mercedes. "It's alright. They have insurance that will pay for everything. The man said something to the effect that they will receive a million dollars."

She transformed to stand before him. "Oh. Well, I guess I'm glad to help." He was glad to hear her return to sarcasm. He looked over her while she tried to look at all the car parts scattered and folded across her body.

"Did you wish to ride in the cab or would you like to roll? As much as I would like to see what other kinds of unique situations you can put me through, we still have to meet the other Autobots."

"Somehow I think it took two to tango on that one, big guy." Her hands faltered at her sides. She took a small step towards him. "I'd like to ride—I don't want to get in an accident…or cause any more damage." She looked at the debris in the parking lot. Optimus sensed a true mate in her.

He transformed into the rig and opened the driver's door. "Get in."

She smiled and said, "Boy, do I want to."


	7. Chapter 7: Banter

"Mercedes…"

"What?"

"I told you before, I have to drive and I can't be distracted like that." Did she have to choose now to tweak the wires under the dash? It—it felt tingly and—made his running lights flicker…

"But it's so much more interesting now. I mean, with me being like you."

"Then you should understand what you're t-touching and how sensitive it is."

He'd kept the rear view mirror trained on her every nuance. He didn't miss her evil grin. "Absolutely…"

"Gah!" He swerved to miss the Volkswagen Samba three inches to the right and felt her flop over onto the floor.

"Eep! Ouch! Maybe I should just stay down here?"

"Please, Mercedes, keep your hands to yourself when I'm driving."

"Oh, come on, Mr. Stuffy, we just had, like, Bot-sex and you're going to get all shy on me now?"

"I'm not being shy, I'm being safe. There's a difference. And there's a time and a place for things like that."

She huffed a glare right at the rear view mirror. "I'm bored."

"What about conversation?"

She tried crossing her arms, but couldn't figure out how to get around the fenders on her forearms. She ended up planting her hands on the floor behind her. "We're talking, now."

Optimus was very careful to keep his amusement to himself. "You don't have any questions you'd like answered?"

"Well, yeah, but let me take it in for a bit, first. I don't know all the questions to ask."

"The Intuition should give you all the answers you need."

She looked thoughtful for a moment. "There are a lot of logic jumps to figure out."

"When you were human, how did you allow for instinct?"

She peered into the mirror, irritated. "I get your point." She still thought and reacted like a human. "So how old are you?"

He chuckled. "A lot older than you."

"Millions?"

She thought to lash her irritation over him, but he knew how to handle a disgruntled Autobot. "Yes, and proud of it. What is your age?"

She wiggled around and sat on the sleeper. "Twenty-one." She thought about it. "Boy are you robbing the cradle."

"Mercedes…" He needed to distract her somehow. She was running her hands along the sheets and he was reminded of an accidental discovery he'd made one night, peering into the upper story of a house. He'd never bothered with a holoform for pleasure before, but what if...he internally reprimanded himself. That way laid danger while driving. "What of your family?"

That stopped her hands, but he regretted the pain that etched her face. "I…don't have any immediate family. You don't have to worry about any angry parents or search parties. No one wonders where I am."

"I will."

Her optics dulled for a moment but then flared brighter than he'd seen as of yet. "Thank you, Optimus. That means so very much to me." He suspected that if she'd been human there would have been tears.

He made sure to put as much solemnity into his voice as possible. "Gladly."

She looked around for something to say. "What will the rest of your company think? About me and this…change?"

"I think they'll be pleasantly surprised."

"I mean, Ratchet will probably want to dissect me or something."

He accidentally rode over hazard bumps on the side of the exit off the highway. "He won't."

She was adamant. "He will! Unless Ironhide shoots me first!" He was surprised to detect panic in her voice.

"They won't, Mercedes. They'll realize the importance of the situation. Even if they didn't, they are under direct orders to not harm humans."

Her response was so small he had to strain to hear her. "I'm not exactly human, anymore."

They were both quiet for a moment. Optimus broke the silence with a necessary question: "Do you regret it?"

She took her time to say no, but there was an acceptance there that relaxed him.

"They never disobey a direct order?"

He chuckled. "They may try to wend their way around it, but they respect my orders."

"Oh really?" She sounded skeptical.

"Yes."

"You're that sure of yourself?"

"I'm that sure of them." He turned left at a light and entered a parking lot.

"I…I don't know if I can handle this, Optimus."

"You can, and you will."

"No, seriously. I'm terrified. What if they don't like me? What if I screw up? What if I get killed or something and I lose this great big thing for you? What if something happens and I change back to human?"

"I am taking you seriously, Mercedes. I understand your fears. They liked you before so they will like you even more, now." He pulled around back of a large warehouse and parked. "You'll do fine. You're a lot harder to harm now than you were as a human…and…if you are lost…" He did not want to think about that possibility. "We can still regain the information. The Prophetess will not die."

She jumped out of the cab and stepped back as he transformed behind the building. He knew she had an important question to ask. Her anxiety levels were skyrocketing.

"Would…would you still have liked me if I were human?"

He knelt down to her diminutive frame of seven feet. "As a human, you were fascinating." He was careful to align their optics. "As an Autobot, I can't begin to describe the feelings…" He was at a loss. He truly couldn't begin.

"Try."

He surveyed the area to make sure no one was around. This was the place to meet, but he couldn't scan inside. He couldn't take the chance of anyone eavesdropping. "I…will tell you more when we are in private. I cannot say much more than I will regain fallen comrades because of your abilities. That alone means very much to me."

"Megatron was closer than an enemy to you." Her surprising insight bothered him until he remembered what she was…who she was.

He chanced an explanation. "Is there such a thing as closer than an enemy? He was my brother. We were raised together. He was my first lieutenant before Jazz."

"So I can bring him back to you." She looked down and then back up at him. "Do you really want that?"

Without a doubt. "If I could have my brother back, I would give anything. But he has not been my brother for thousands of years." That sadness had taken most of that time to be contained.

"He was the one who split the All-Spark and the Prophetess." His optics were riveted to hers. This Intuition was fearsome.

He nodded in the affirmative, but slowly.

"Omega convinced him that it was for the best, and then Megatron gave him the cube. That doesn't make sense. Why didn't he keep it for himself? The cube-holder rules Cybertron. Oh my God." Her apertures blinked up at him. "You rule Cybertron."

"You knew I was the Autobots leader, Mercedes."

"I didn't know you were like a king. I thought you were a general or something."

"I am not a king. I am a leader, but there are checks and balances, much like your system of government."

"Well, I sure as hell hope you got the kinks worked out. Our system sucks."

He smiled down at her. "A few hundred million years will do that."

"So…I've caught the big fish, huh?"

Happiness started to flare his inner spark. "Fish?"

"You know what I mean." Silence, then. "What really happened in that hotel room? You said we joined, and I know we made some pretty serious sparks, but what about that mental thing in the middle?"

"You don't know?"

"I created…something. Just by touching it."

"You created a botling. A child among us Autobots."

"A child!? What do you mean? Was it real?"

"I'm certain it was a manifestation of the Joining, but if it were real… we have not had a botling appear in a very long time."

"I'm not sure if I should say this, but damn, Optimus, if you and I made a child the first time we had Bot-Sex, then you must be very…uh…potent."

His roaring laughter shook the building and was what brought Glen peeking around the corner, armed with a dust mop.


	8. Chapter 8: Surprise!

Optimus' laughter died slowly. "Yes, Mercedes, I believe that would be the human correlation." He jovially shifted down to his human-like size and stood in front of her, leaning in so Glen couldn't hear. He whispered quietly, intimately into her audible receptors, "That would make you rather fertile, as well."

Her optics blazed. He wondered if her holoform would look like her previous human self.

"Mercedes? Optimus! How the hell did you do that? You're little!" Glen ventured out from his corner, brandishing this dust mop. Maggie rounded the corner a moment later with a paint brush roller.

"Glen! Why are you yelling? It's just…Oh." She stumbled over her feet and lowered the pole when she saw Optimus. "Wow."

"Greetings, Glen…Maggie. Where are the others? I can't locate them near this building."

They both stared in dumbfounded wonder as Optimus shifted back up to his normal height. Maggie was the first to recover. "I didn't know you could do that."

"I didn't either, Maggie."

She looked confused, "Well—?"

Glen interrupted her "Who is that?" He pointed the dust mop at Mercedes. "Who are you?"

"Hi Maggie, Glen." She waved. Optimus watched recognition dawn over both of them.

"M…Mercedes?"

"How—what—why?"

A car horn honked just on the other side of the barricade wall. He didn't like being out in the open like this. "Where are the others? I can't seem to locate them."

Maggie recovered and thumbed back from whence they came. "They're inside."

Optimus took in the tan and orange warehouse. It was a huge building, taller than he by at least ten feet. "Inside? Here?"

"C'mon, we'll show you."

Optimus and Mercedes followed the humans through a large orange garage door, tall enough for even him to fit under without stooping much. "What is this place?"

"Home Depot. Glen works here in the Electrical department."

The moment Optimus came into view, Bumblebee and Ratchet stopped in mid-conversation and greeted him. Optimus did not like the calculating look Ratchet was giving Mercedes. Bumblebee was flicking his bright blue gaze between Optimus and the new Autobot before him, withholding his opinion like always.

Ironhide tromped into the wide lumber aisle, his hands full of something. "Hey guys, look what I found." He lifted up a spool of chain, a nail gun, and a four-foot crowbar. He dropped them all at the sight of the newcomer and aimed his right cannon, clicking it into a high whine. "You didn't tell us another Autobot landed, Optimus."

Optimus heard Mercedes gasp behind him as she scooted a little behind his much larger leg. Leave it to the Intuition to let Mercedes know precisely how his men would react. "Easy, Ironhide. She didn't."

Bumblebee asked, already suspicious of the answer, "Where is Mercedes?"

She peeked out from around Optimus' leg. "Right here." Her voice was almost a squeak. She waved a bit.

The entire group just stared at Optimus and Mercedes in stunned silence.

Ratchet was the first to break the shock. After a confirming glance at Optimus, he stepped up to her diminutive frame and ran a quick diagnostic. "This isn't logical. How did this happen?" Optimus knew she was thinking about her earlier dissection comment.

Optimus moved forward, shielding Mercedes from Ratchet's scientific stare, but then remembered he didn't need to protect, he needed to lead. He brought Mercedes out from around him with a gentle hand and pushed her a few feet forward into the semi-circle of sentients. "Autobots, meet the Intuition. She is our future, and is to be protected at all costs."

He watched his Medical Officer's mouth drop open in shock. "But, Optimus, she can't be—?"

"What's the matter, Ratchet? Why do you look…afraid?"

"She is not scanning as either human or Autobot. I don't understand. How did she come to this in the first place? What happened?"

Optimus looked to Mercedes. She looked uncomfortable, but replied directly to Ratchet. "Well, we're…not sure, exactly." He knew it took a lot of bravery for her to speak up right now. He was proud of her.

Ratchet looked between them questioningly. "Sir? Are you sure?"

"She carries the Prophetess. We're not sure how or why, but that awakened the Shard. She now carries that as part of her, as well."

Ratchet's metal brow arched. "That would mean you two…I mean," He broke off and cleared his vocal processor. The others in the group were starting to follow Ratchet's suspicions. "You—she can't be…how can you be sure she wasn't a holoform from a Decepticon sent to infiltrate us?"

"Ratchet, she's ridden in my cab. I watched the transformation."

Ironhide latched on to Ratchet's idea of infiltration. "Sounds like more trickery from Omega, to me." He trained his weapon back onto Mercedes. Optimus couldn't understand. His men followed his lead without question. What was happening? He pulled Mercedes closer to his frame, then decided to pick her up for safe measure and hold her in front of his chest armor.

Bumblebee, so unusual to disagree with Optimus, nodded at Ironhide. "I agree, sir, this is not easily trusted."

Ratchet turned on the yellow bot with irritation. "Bumblebee, you don't have to speak like that anymore, I fixed your vocal processors to assimilate the American dialect of English."

Optimus watched Bumblebee flare his antennae in defiance. "I prefer the British dialect."

Ironhide joined in the verbal fray. "Quit picking on him, Ratchet."

Optimus watched the Autobots with concern. This was highly unusual.

"Optimus?" she was so quiet. He knew she was terrified of bringing their attention back to herself.

"Yes, Mercedes?" He cradled her frame in both of his hands against his chest armor.

She looked less afraid now, more concerned and determined. "Have them run virus checks. Something's not right." His apertures widened in surprise. Why didn't he think of that? Ah, yes, the advantages of the Intuition. He set her down behind him.

"Autobots."

They kept bickering.

"Autobots! Snap out of it!"

They stopped immediately and formed rank. "Diagnostics check, immediately!"

"We don't—."

"Now, Soldiers!" This was growled out at such a timbre the electrical systems flickered in the store. Optimus saw Maggie shoosh Glen off to the side "not now!"

The Autobots immediately comply and each is surprised to find a leech virus recently used on their systems. Ratchet was the first to speak. "This is curious, sir. A leech virus of this kind is only used in one way and by only one thing that I can recall in Autobot mechanics and programming."

"Go ahead, Ratchet." He knew the answer without asking, but did the rest of them remember?

Ratchet looked between Optimus and Mercedes. "This is the same thing that happens when a newly made botling is among us." Just at that moment, lumber tumbled down from a lower rack and spread across the floor. Little metallic feet could be heard scurrying over the concrete floor.

Ironhide charged his cannons. "A spy! I'll dispose of it."

Mercedes cried out bravely. "Wait! Ironhide, no!"

He looked to Optimus for confirmation. "Let her do it, Ironhide. We seem to have our first botling in thirty-five thousand years."

"But, how can that be?"

Optimus was tired of this game. He was starting to grow angry, but remembered that this was caused by a wonderous event. "She is who I say she is. Can you doubt it, now?"

They all watch Mercedes creep warily around Ironhide and walk around the corner. Optimus strides forward and pushes his men out of the way. What did the little botling look like? He stopped at the end of the aisle and saw Mercedes bending over, crooning encouraging words to something hiding behind swing-set parts.

She looks up when Optimus' shadow crosses over her. "He's a little bigger than I remembered."

"We grow quickly. It is a defense mechanism. He won't be able to take on camouflage until he is full grown…in about twenty four hours."

She looks back at him, surprised. "It only takes a day for you guys to grow full-size?"

Ratchet speaks up from behind them. "Optimus is right, the botling will be full grown within the next day. Although, I must say, he is progressing slower because of Earth's difference in time passage."

Mercedes held out a hand to the three-foot tall child-bot. "He must be terrified. How did he get here without us knowing?"

"He must have hitched a ride, as humans call it. On one of us."

She looked up at Optimus, startled. "You mean, when--?"

He nodded to keep her from saying anything else. Thankfully, she remained quiet. The less the Autobots knew about their joining, the better. A normal spark sharing had nothing to do with the…friction…they created.

Another few minutes of coaxing and the botling took Mercedes' hand. She smiled at him and pulled him out of the display. "Can he talk to us?"

Optimus looked to Ratchet for help. He was sure that Mercedes didn't understand that she was the bot's mother. Ratchet seemed at a loss for words. Very well, it was his responsibility…as the bot's…father. Primus! He was a father!

Mercedes looked up from the botling when she felt, more than heard, Optimus stagger backwards. He watched her face turn from clear concern to confusion, to understanding. "Ah." That was all she could say? Did she even know? "I see. He can only communicate to his parents for the first few hours."

This Intuition was a fearful blessing. She looked down to the little one. "Well, sweetie, let's see if we can rectify abandoning you for your first few hours, hmmm?" It shook, unsteady in her arms, afraid, wary…then it looked up into her apertures and reacted the same way Optimus did every time. He was fine. Mercedes reached with her free hand to touch the bot-child's spark-casing and a glittering halo of lighting encircled them, almost like a forcefield. She calmly stepped out of the halo and reached for Optimus' hand. She smiled up at him.

All any of them could do was watch as the botling grew rapidly before their eyes and optics, sucking the halo into the spark-casing as he finished. He had grown almost as tall as Optimus. His son.

His son.

"Mother." This new Autobot only had eyes for Mercedes.

She was quick to point out, "This is your father, honey." Blazing blue optics met between father and son. He drew up to his full height, which only came to Optimus' chin. So many millennia and he'd given up on ever producing a son.

The only thing he knew to do was to treat him as he had the other Autobots in his company. "What is your name, soldier?"

"I--?" he looked down at Mercedes. She smiled and nodded.

He looked back up to Optimus. "Regulus, sir."

Optimus smiled. The Lion's heart-star. From human mythology. It must have been Mercedes' idea. "What have you learned from us today?"

"I've learned basic medical, tactical, and diplomatic practices. I've learned you are the leader…father."

"Optimus?" Mercedes' was the only voice he would allow to interrupt this moment.

He looked away from the proud bot standing before him and down to Mercedes. "Perhaps he shouldn't call us 'mother' and 'father'? It will be dangerous enough that there are two new Autobots around. With Omega-Six coming, we can't afford them to know our relationships."

"That is wise. Thank you, Mercedes."

He saw Bumblebee and Ratchet exchange glances. Ironhide bent over to pick up his new toys from the floor where he'd dropped them. Optimus faced his son.

"Regulus."

"Yes, sir?"

"You are to address each of us by name, not by relation. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir. I understand what M-Mercedes was referring to in Omega-Six's arrival."

"Very good. Bumblebee?"

He approached from behind and stood beside Regulus. "Yes, sir?"

"I charge you with the first level of training." This was an honor he hoped Bumblebee would understand. Regulus was extremely important and needed the best training they could offer, but the lighthearted Bumblebee would provide the best introduction.

The yellow bot didn't fail him. He smiled and saluted Optimus. "Let's go get you some camouflage. I saw a nice black Chevy in the parking lot with a great flame job on it." They left eagerly. Leave it to Bumblebee for that subtle reference.

He turned back to face Ratchet and Ironhide. There was an awkward silence at first, but Ironhide broke it with: "You sly dog. We leave you alone for a few hours and you get the nearest female bot knocked up." He finished with a smile and a chuckle and went in search of more hardware.

Optimus latched his flummoxed apertures onto Ratchet. He simply smiled and looked down to Mercedes. "How do you feel? Is everything running well?"

She smiled gamely, laughing from Ironhide's comment. "Oh, just peachy. Firing on all ten cylinders."

Optimus' optics flared and a large finger flew to cover Mercedes' mouth. "Shhh!"

Too late did he realize Ratchet would sooner understand Mercedes' quip from Optimus' reaction. He groaned and removed his finger. Ratchet just quirked a metal brow, shook his head and walked off to find Ironhide. He looked around for the humans. Maggie must have pulled Glen tactfully away during the past few revelations.


	9. Chapter 9: Ten Cylinders

Optimus turned back to Mercedes. For the first time in hours, it felt awkward to be in her presence. She spoke first. "So, here we are…alone again."

"Yes." How did she feel? What was she thinking? Her entire life had been altered in a matter of hours. "You seem to be adjusting to many changes very well."

She looked around, returning her gaze back to him. "Well, my grandmother used to say 'no use crying over spilt milk.' She meant it, too." She smiled, a little sad. "My dad would beat my rear end if I dropped a glass of water on the floor, but not Grandma. She would just say it was time to mop the floor."

He nodded. "There is much wisdom in that." What kind of family did she have that she had no longer? He'd never forget the sadness rolling off of her when she'd said no one would wonder where she was.

"It is a lot to take in…I mean, who'd ever have thought three days ago that an aspiring astronomer from Utah would meet…well, you…" She gestured with a broad smile, "and end up in a relationship. Much less have a robotic child within a matter of hours." Her hands danced around and landed on her hips. "I don't know how I know it all, but when it comes, it's like I've always known it. Is that strange?"

So many things to respond to in her words, but she asked if the Intuition was strange. He almost smiled. He would have, if he weren't concerned for her. "I would say that is out of the ordinary, except that's how the Matrix' information comes to me, as well."

"Really?"

He eased as she looked relieved by this information. "Yes."

"I guess it's a good thing we're together, then, huh?"

Optimus hoped she could maintain a positive outlook in the trials ahead. "I'd like to think so."

"Things have happened so fast. I can't believe we only set out…well, yesterday, now."

Her words seemed more focused on their relationship. "Are you more concerned with the changes to you? Or between us?"

"Hey, handsome, I'm the one with this big honkin' Intuition, not you." She actually winked at him. He didn't know Autobots could wink. Her evasion was answer enough.

"Handsome…I like that."

"Yeah, well, you should. It's healthy to like yourself."

He searched for the right thing to say. Something that personal seemed to want reciprocation, but…"I would respond in kind, if it did not seem trite to repeat a sentiment simply for repeating."

She nodded, the hopeful light dimming in her apertures. "I understand not wanting to be trite. Who wants that?" She paused in thought, stepped forward and reached for his hand. "But what would you say if it weren't trite?" Batting eyelashes was a very human action. Autobots didn't have eyelashes. How did she do it?

But the question needed answering. "I would say, I see a kindred spirit in you."

"Kindred spirit? What am I, Anne of Green Gables?" She laughed. While her response was pleased, he sensed she'd wanted more. He researched internally for her reference, but was interrupted by the arrival of familiar faces. Sam and Mikaela had come back with food for the humans.

"Hey, Prime…uh, hey…Mercedes." Sam waved and edged around Mercedes to stand slightly between her and Optimus. He looked between the two of them, curiosity evident.

Mercedes, brave as always, ventured forth. "Yeah, hi Sam. Mikaela." That human came to stand behind Sam and whispered something in his ear.

Mikaela responded to Mercedes with a shy, "Hey."

"Bee told us that you were…different…now. And we met Regulus, but I'm still not sure where he came from." Sam looked up expectantly to Optimus. He supposed it was his own fault for giving Sam so many answers in the past.

Mikaela admonished him before Optimus could answer. "Sam!"

"What?"

"You should let them tell you when they want to." She almost whispered, and looked warily between the two Autobots.

"Well, I mean, it's not like he's something to hide. He seems pretty cool. He even knows more about humans than you guys seem to. Well, not you, Mercedes…I mean, uh..."

Mercedes had more mercy than Optimus had at the moment. "It's okay, Sam. According to Ratchet, I'm both human and Autobot, but neither, so we don't know what I am, except that I'm basically…" He knew it. This was too much on her. He wanted to broadcast his apology to the skies, even as he'd never regret her change.

He finished for her: "The All-Spark."

"Huh?" Sam was starting to look like the tennis ball in the matches Maggie watched on television. "So, what, you guys can go back to Cybertron…?" He looked out the bay doors to Bumblebee, who was showing Regulus how to transform while moving.

Optimus wasn't sure if they'd ever be able to go back to Cybertron. That world was dead. They had the All-Spark back in Mercedes, but this world had so quickly become a home…he remembered their main goal while waiting for information on Omega-Six's arrival. "There is still the unfinished business we set out to rectify before these recent changes. Megatron is still at an unknown military base in the Colorado Rockies being experimented on. If it weren't for Simmons being fired from Sector Seven and telling us this information, the US military would be able to produce effective weaponry against us. While that may be advantageous in a Decepticon attack, that is also a danger to us. We must stop their experimentation."

He met Mercedes' eyes. Would she be able to intuit the real reason he needed to stop the experimentation on Megatron? She looked at him, sad and sympathetic, but stayed quiet.

They were thankfully interrupted by what sounded like a scuffle at the other end of the store. Optimus heard Ironhide's weapons charge up and possibly a squeal from Glen.

"Oh, come on, guys! You're gonna wreck the store! I've still gotta work here! Quit messing with the banners, Ironhide, or I swear I won't let you near Halo again!"

Ironhide stopped laughing and stopped short when they rounded the corner of the aisle and saw Optimus. While he didn't forbid Ironhide from playing the game, he made sure there was a proper amount of admonition in his arched brow.

Ratchet followed up from behind, inspecting a fire extinguisher.

Glen looked ready to implode. "Where'd you get that? Put it back! Oh, man, LP's gonna catch me…"

Maggie looked concerned. "I thought you turned off the cameras."

"I did, but they're only gonna be offline for another hour or so. There can't be nothing wrong with this store, or they're gonna know someone was in here."

Ratchet defended himself admirably. "I was just inspecting the mechanism. The product has worked in the past, I just thought to add it to my collection of weaponry." No one liked to be reminded of the reason they knew how well a fire extinguisher worked on an Autobot, and thankfully Bumblebee was just out of earshot outside.

Ironhide decided to regain some levity. "You think a little fire extinguisher will stop a Decepticon? Ratchet, I taught you better than that."

"I learned from more than just you, Ironhide. Anything can be a weapon."

Mikaela, ever the one to cut to the chase, piped up. "Okay, all right, that's enough! Glen, is there a place where we can go eat or do we just stand around and stuff our faces?"

Glen was obviously not happy, but started walking to the front of the store. "There are some picnic tables out front, I'll show you. Guys, I'm serious, we need to be out of here before the cameras come back online."

Mercedes, true to her name, responded, "Don't worry, Glen, we will."

Optimus looked outside when a clap of thunder rumbled into the walls. Regulus and Bumblebee had transformed and started rolling out front. He turned to watch the humans walk in a huddle out the front of the store, talking closely to Maggie. Ratchet was at his side.

"Maggie will make sure they know what's going on. They'll be fine."

"You're right." He looked down at his medical officer. "I don't want to have Regulus or Mercedes drive in the rain on their first night, so we'll camp out in the parking lot. We'll roll out at daybreak."

"Agreed. Ironhide, let's go."

"I was just showing Mercedes my cannons." Optimus swung his head around in surprise. Was Ironhide interested in Mercedes?

"Ironhide…"

"Yes, 'Hide, let's go." Ratchet gave a warning look to his friend, transformed and rolled out the back. Ironhide chuckled and followed suit.

"I'll close up and get the others to let me out front. I'm small enough to fit through those doors."

"Mercedes, I—"

"Shh." She looked out the bay door. He turned to look in that direction and saw that Ironhide and Ratchet were rolling rather too slowly. Blast! He wanted to talk to Mercedes alone. There was so much they needed to discuss, but the second he stepped outside, she started rolling the chain that brought the door down. He looked back at the other Autobots. Ironhide was laughing again as they turned the corner. He'd have to separate his weapons specialist from Glen. They never should have installed the gaming system into Ironhide's interior.

How was he going to talk to Mercedes alone, now? The lights went dim inside. She must have already exited out front.

Optimus thought about using his holoform, but it had been so long, would that work? He looked around to make sure no one was watching. It was difficult to scan this building. All the little metal bits and racks and rafters made it near impossible to transmit anything. He was hidden.

He made up his mind and opened the file. It took him a moment to locate the exact details of his chosen holoform. A rather tall male with short black hair and blue eyes. He adjusted the clothing to be more casual, the skin a little darker. He just couldn't make the adjustment to look younger than a thirty five year old male. It seemed…false.

"Optimus?" Headlights illuminated his holoform seconds before he shut it off.

"Mercedes! I'm coming. I was just—"

"Who was that? Was that you?" It was so hard to try to explain himself to an expressionless vehicle. She looked smart as a Kompressor, but he'd rather see her features.

"That was nothing. I was reviewing an old file." He transformed into the semi and drove around Mercedes out front. She turned around and followed.

The others had chosen strategic locations near the parking lot entrances, all except for Bumblebee and Regulus, who were parked behind an away-facing rental store. That left the center open for Optimus to take up several spaces. He was glad that Mercedes drove up beside him. Perhaps, if they were quiet, they could talk. He'd have to save his holoform for later, if she could produce one.

"Hi, handsome."

"Ah!" Sentient Heavens, he'd not meant to yell so loudly! Apparently she could produce a holoform, and right inside his cabin.

Ironhide called out, alert as always. "Optimus?" Ratchet flared his toplights. Sam poked his head out of Bumblebee's rear passenger window.

"All is fine, Autobots. Just a…kink…in my transformation." Thankfully, they all went back to their posts. He'd catch hell on the road tomorrow for the comment, though.

"So, I'm a kink, am I?" Mercedes stretched out her human form against the sheets of his sleeper. He felt every inch.

His holoform flickered to life, standing beside the sleeper. "Whoa…" It would serve her right if he'd startled her. "Very nice." He hadn't realized he already missed her human facial expressions. Humans had such mobile faces. Each nuance was fascinating. He watched appreciation float her eyes up and down his form. She stood. She was wearing something lustrous, very low-cut across her chest.

He liked it.

He inhaled sharply when she stepped forward. Would he feel her touch? Could his holoform feel something that soft? He couldn't remember…aaaaaaaaah, yes, it—himself—he could.

Her tiny fingers slipped deftly up his arms, over the sensitive little hairs, across his shoulders. "I take it you like me touching you?"

"Yes." So much sensation packed into every molecule of this form. He'd once thought the holoform a weak ability. He'd been so wrong. Humans were fragile, but so very…sensitive.

She spread her fingers, arched them, and lightly scratched her nails down the center of his chest, one trailing the other. He shuddered. "Then don't you think I'd like it, too?"

His form was so solid, he felt a human heart pounding in lust. That wasn't all he felt in his oh, so solid form. She looked at him expectantly. Ah, yes, answer the question. "I'm sure…" He brought his hands to her neck, gently sliding his fingers around to cup her face. Her warmth, her texture…he could be swallowed by so much sensation.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him with now-blue eyes. He remembered her eyes were brown before. The change reminded him of all that she'd been through, all that she'd accepted. She was ready to completely alter the course of her existence from nothing other than chance. He valued loyalty and bravery so completely that she couldn't have given him anything more important. Perhaps he could give something back to her in this human form. Something she'd understand without the Intuition.

Cradling her face between his hands, he leaned in for a human kiss. He'd seen Sam and Mikaela do it many times, but had never been curious why they did it until now. Her eyes fluttered closed as their lips met in a soft friction. She moved her mouth under his, surprising him with pleasure. Such feeling! He used newfound muscles and kissed her more deeply.

She sighed and licked his lips with the tip of her tongue. It was foreign, odd, but not…not bad. Not bad at all. Parts of him that made him male to her female drew heavy and tight. He ventured his tongue in counterpart. She moaned and pressed into his body. He drowned himself in the wet, warm textures of her mouth. His breathing apparatus couldn't pull in enough air, he was almost panting. He kept exploring her mouth, carefully, while he shifted one hand and then the other over her frame. Smooth knobs of shoulder, sleek muscle, the complex and wondrous organism that was human fascinated him. His fingers delighted in the slick fabric of the garment she wore and followed the straps down, down to the rise of her chest. She grew almost frantic as his hands followed the fabric over her breasts, around, down to flatten against her waist.

Her breath was warm against his mouth. "H-have you done this before?" She opened the eyes that told him she was his.

"No. Not in human form, not like this."

"What do you—?" He kissed her silent.

"Perhaps later. For now, let us enjoy this gift."

She grinned and reached to run her fingers through his hair. "That…tingles." He shivered. So many nerve endings in the human scalp! He shivered again. The tightening grew almost painful, but not. It felt better with her pressed tightly against him. She slid her hands down his neck and tightened her arms around him, pressing so close he felt her…everywhere.

He couldn't stop the groan from escaping. His body did not want to stand. She understood his physical cues and pulled him down to the bed with her. In this position, he had such a satisfaction looking down at her, having her underneath him. He searched his internal system for clues on how to proceed. Ah. That looked about right. He smiled and reached down to the hem of her nightgown, drawing it slowly up as he ran his fingers along her legs. She wiggled and smiled, arching her neck. He kissed her there and felt the perfection of her legs wrap around him. She reached through their bodies and tugged off his shirt…unbuttoned his shorts.

She looked to him to do the rest. He obliged by completely deleting his clothing with a smile. She had a melting look in her eyes that made his heart feel odd. He had a few moments to revel in the sensation of the soft nightgown before it, too disappeared, to be replaced with the heady sensation of skin against skin. She arched. He gasped. He ran his hand over her breast. She liked it.

He grew emboldened and kissed her there. She held his head for a moment before pulling it up for a deep kiss on the mouth. She shifted her hips up to brush against his full and tight erection. Sweet Prophetess, what feeling!

His entire body and purpose focused on wanting to be inside of her. "Yes, Optimus, please…"

He felt her incredible warmth, a hot wetness. He wanted more. He pushed in slowly, savoring every inch, every tiny molecule that was their joining. He groaned at the satisfaction of being fully seated inside her. He took several deep breaths, registering that her pheromone level was almost, but not quite as high as his. She watched him, open-mouthed, and tilted her hips. The friction was astounding. Wanting more, he pulled back a bit and pushed forward. There. That's what she needed to escalate.

"More." He was happy to oblige. The faster and harder he went, the better it felt, the more she responded. "Yes! Yes! Oh…"

He wrapped his arms around her waist, forcing her to arch into him. He sat back slightly and pulled her up with him, seating her harder. Yes…

He kissed her to quieten her peak and the control sent him over the edge…into…bliss…


	10. Chapter 10: Redirection

She awoke in his holoform arms with a scream. "NO!" She writhed underneath him and backed away as if he were something to deathly fear. Her arms flew out in panic, hitting the side of the sleeper. For all intents, she seemed to be reacting as if she were trapped.

Concern coursed through his holoform and he reached to comfort her. What was happening? The second he touched her she screamed as if she were…dying. Her holoform flickered and blinked out completely.

By the time Optimus closed his holoform and backed up a few feet to actually see Mercedes' Kompressor, the entire crew had sped into a semi-circle in front of them.

"Autobots, do not break camouflage!" Dawn was filtering pink through the passing rain clouds. Mercedes' engine flared to life, revving much too high for her own good.

"Oh, God!"

"What is it? What's wrong?" A dim idea niggled in the back of Optimus' mind that perhaps it was him she was afraid of. She backed up a bit. No. NO. He silently pleaded this fear wasn't to do with him.

She gently turned and rolled forward to nudge her bumper against his front tire, as if she needed to touch him. Her voice was staticy and warbled over her transmitter. "I—I saw Megatron…and another bot…they're alive and being tortured by men." Her engine slowed a bit, and then sped up again. "I felt it. I felt them."

Optimus had a second to relax before guilt poured over him. For one night, he had lost sight of this fear and now Mercedes had experienced his worst imaginings. Her holoform appeared in her driver seat, opened the door and stepped out. She wore the same clothes she'd worn in her human form when they'd first met.

Three of the other Autobots rolled back a few feet. Regulus was the only one that didn't. She addressed them all. "I'm sorry, I didn't know how else to express this since we're not allowed to transform." She wiped tears from her cheeks. "I assume all of you can appear in human form?"

It was almost a challenge coming from her like that. The others waited for Optimus to lead. He generated his form in the cab and stepped out, grabbing for her hand as he reached her. She smiled but looked to the others.

Sam and Mikaela were the first to step out after that. Maggie and Glen climbed down from Ironhide. Bumblebee stepped forward as a blonde male in his late twenties. Ratchet, a thirty-something auburn haired male. Ironhide's boots echoed against the asphalt as his holoform stepped out, imitating former military in appearance. That left Regulus.

A tall, pale and very young man stepped down from the flamed black truck, enveloped in a black trench coat. His black hair was the only trait that marked him like Optimus.

They all stood silently in a circle, watching Mercedes warily, waiting for her to explain.

She nodded at each of them. "Much easier. Thank you." She stepped a bit forward into the circle. "You all know the information that Simmons told you. You don't know the rest of it. Now you will."

Ironhide crossed his arms over his chest. Ratchet elbowed him at Optimus' arched brow and he uncrossed them.

"Megatron isn't in the Laurentian Abyss. They are experimenting on his body, trying to find ways to kill bots. You knew that. What we didn't know was that he has since come back online and feels every inch of that experimentation."

"Good for him. He needed a good lesson in pain."

Ratchet was as shocked as Optimus at "Ironhide!"

Mercedes didn't even blink. "Not like this, 'Hide. They have dismantled any reactionary circuitry. I don't know how, but he can't move. He can't scream or even let them know he's online."

Sam was the first human to speak up. "Mercedes, he got himself into that mess. He's the one who caused all the problems for the Autobots in the first place."

She looked to Optimus. What could he say? Old habits die hard and keeping his relationship with Megatron secret was a very old habit. She leveled an angry look at him and threw her head to the side to indicate the others. "Tell them, or I will. It's the only way you'll get full cooperation."

"The Autobots know."

"Not all of it."

"They didn't need to."

"They do now, Optimus. You can't keep them in the dark. They won't believe me."

He looked at the circle of friends around them. The humans didn't know about Megatron and none of them knew about Omega's personal vendetta against Optimus.

He hesitated too long, as was his usual fault. She turned her back to him. "Megatron is—"

"My brother." He watched her shoulders hitch and then relax.

"Huh?" Mikaela looked at him with horror, much as he'd thought she would.

"What?" Maggie's expression was less to do with horror, and more aligned with the calculation he normally sought in Ratchet.

Sam opted for disbelief. "Like brother in arms, brother?"

Optimus kept with the simplest explanation. "We were sparked by the same two Autobots. He is my younger sibling."

The humans looked around at the holoforms. They had no choice but to accept it as truth.

Ironhide picked up on the other half that Optimus didn't want to share. "What about the other part? What don't _we_ know?"

He deliberated how much to say. It had been his secret, his burden, his problem…how could he just let that go after thirty-five thousand years? Again, he kept it simple. "Omega-Six is the puppeteer for Megatron's betrayal…"

Ratchet knew him better. "And."

He took a deep breath. "And, it was all manipulated to revenge Elita."

Mikaela led into territory he did not want to venture just yet in front of Mercedes. "Who's Elita?"

Optimus looked to Mercedes. Her face was carefully closed. There was no hope for it, he needed to stay as brief as possible. But what words? What could he say that wouldn't spoil this incredibly special relationship? "She was my intended co-leader of Cybertron. There was a battle…an energy crisis. She sacrificed herself to allow the rest of us to escape. There was no hope for her survival."

Ironhide was increasingly irritating this morning. "But Megatron was against you before Elita's death. He stole the cube. He's the one that separated the Prophetess and the All-Spark. That's what caused the energy crisis."

Optimus narrowed his eyes at his weapons specialist. "Omega wants my position as leader. He was in love with Elita and wanted to defame me to put himself in my place. I thought he stepped down after her death, but he took the cube away from Cybertron. If you'll remember, old friend, we immediately started searching for it." He looked to the humans in their group. "It's been that long since we've been self-sustainable as a species. Without resources, we will still die. So far, human technology has kept us well-powered."

"Optimus—?"

Bumblebee was interrupted by Ironhide. "Why didn't you tell us this? Are we not your team? Do we not follow you under every circumstance? We all owe you our very existence."

This was why he'd never told them. He knew they'd see it as a betrayal. At first it had been too personal, too painful. "I've always given you free choice in following me. I couldn't lay such a burden on you. The fault is mine and the burden mine to bear."

"Apologies, sir, but have we not proven ourselves?"

"It's not a question of proof, Bumblebee. None of you have any need to prove yourselves to me. And all of you…" He couldn't make himself finish. Of the Autobots there with him, none had given him less than their best on every occasion. Ratchet, Ironhide and Bumblebee were like sons to him. Only Jazz had been with him longer. He looked around the circle at each of them, human and holoform.

"All of you are worth my protection." That would just have to do. He wasn't giving them anymore right now.

"So that's it? You're not telling us all of it because you're protecting us?"

Mercedes rounded on him. "Ironhide, you're pushing him too far."

"I'm sorry, little missy, I've served with him for millennia. You've been with us for three days. What gives you the right to tell me I'm pushing _my_ leader too far?"

"He's my leader too, or have you forgotten that?"

"You've been an Autobot for a few hours, you cuddle up to our leader for a night and you think you can boss us around?"

The entire collective group of eyes flew between Optimus, Mercedes and Ironhide. That was uncalled for. Optimus couldn't place why he had such an attitude this morning. "Ironhide!"

Optimus stepped forward to remand his weapons specialist for his poor manners, but Mercedes didn't give him a chance. She blinked out and her Kompressor surged forward, directly at Ironhide. She backed him up a few feet, closer to his vehicle form. "I'm not bossing anyone around, you big…overgrown…Tool! You have no idea what I've gone through in the past few days just as I'm sure as hell not going to try to begin to imagine what all you guys have been through together."

Ironhide's holoform dissolved and the Topkick roared to life. "No one calls me a tool and gets away with it."

The little Kompressor could fit underneath the gigantic pickup truck. That didn't stop his Mercedes from firing her engine at Ironhide. "C'mon, hothead, let's see what you've got."

"Mercedes! Ironhide! Halt!" He simultaneously growled his semi for emphasis. Oddly enough, Regulus was leaning back against his own truck with amusement. The humans had hidden behind Bumblebee and Ratchet.

"Mercedes, please."

She backed up and shut off her engine. Her holoform stepped out of the car in a very interesting black leather outfit. She leaned back against her hood and crossed her arms.

Optimus took a deep breath and released it. He turned to Ironhide and arched a brow expectantly. The GMC quietened where it was. "Ironhide, come out of there."

He stepped down from the truck and leaned sideways against the quarter panel, none too pleased.

Optimus watched them both. "Let's deal with the situation at hand. Megatron still hasn't been located. The longer he's in military control, the better chance they have to create effective weaponry against us."

"That's not entirely true."

He looked to Mercedes. What wasn't true? "What do you mean?"

"He's in Utah, close to the border with Colorado." This was great news! They knew where Megatron was…but…

"How do you know this?" It was hard for even him to believe that the Intuition could tell her that.

She looked like she would be ill. "I know where he is…because…when I saw them this morning…" She really looked ill. What was so terrible?

"My dad's the one experimenting on him."


	11. Chapter 11: Visions

"I knew it! She's a spy! Decepticon!" Ironhide lunged his Topkick towards Mercedes so fast and violently that he almost hit his own holoform before it disappeared.

Optimus blinked. He had a second to react and jump between Mercedes' holoform and Ironhide's truck. Once he did so, however, he felt an odd warmth at his back, like the sun on a long, bright day. Only the sun didn't glow blue. Ironhide rumbled in dissatisfaction, unwilling to deliberately go through Optimus to get to his target.

Sure that Ironhide was under control, Optimus turned to see why Mercedes was emanating heat. So much heat. It scalded his face as he turned, blue light almost blinding him. He heard Ironhide slowly roll back several inches. What they both saw, what everyone was sure to see, was Mercedes burning in a blue flame, an alien presence slipping over her face until her eyes went black.

Everything about her was still, save for the pale blue lightning and flame flickering outwards, crawling across her hood, across the pavement, prickling up Optimus' legs like something alive. He'd never felt such energy contained in one spot.

She stood there, staring at Ironhide's grille as if it were the most important thing in the world. His engine turned off. Optimus stared in wonder as Ironhide's holoform stepped out of the truck and walked towards Mercedes quietly. He stopped just on the other side of Optimus. He couldn't help but raise his hands to touch his comrade.

As soon as he got his hand within two inches of Ironhide's arm, a magnetic pull, much like he'd experienced with Mercedes in the hotel room, sucked on his hand. Both he and Ironhide's free hands reached to touch Mercedes as if she'd willed it at the same time. Optimus was slightly jealous, slightly afraid of what was happening. The moment the three of them touched, the nova snapped over them in an arc, completing the circuit in and out of Mercedes.

Optimus' vision went black.

"Optimus Prime."

The Prophetess…?

"You have failed her."

"What? Never!" He was indignant. How could he have failed Mercedes? What did this have to do with Ironhide?

"She stands before your second in command, ready to fight. You stand still. Answer."

He was becoming angry. "I have not stood still. I have done nothing but protect and defend those in my care for eons. I have never left someone else to fight in my place."

"Yet you let her stand alone, just like Elita."

No! "That is _not true_."

"You let your Second question her arrogantly, then challenge her twice. How did you stand?"

"Ironhide has always run hot. The others needed answers I couldn't give them."

"You knew the answers already, Leader."

That gave him pause. The Prophetess was right. He hadn't defended Mercedes. He had known the answers but was afraid of the Autobot's reactions. So much had happened in the past few days that it had seemed easier to leave the explanations to the steadfast Mercedes. Apparently, he was taking the Intuition for granted. He wasn't leading the others to believe her.

"I see you know the truth now. I will leave you in peace, but do not expect my host to be as forgiving."

"I'm sorry." He whispered to the bright sunrise in the parking lot. He opened his eyes to see a shocked and shaken Ironhide back up and dissolve. He was afraid to look at Mercedes, so he skittered his glance around the group. Ironhide backed his truck just outside of the semi-circle. Ratchet stared at him, dumbfounded. Was that fear in Bumblebee's eyes? He wasn't used to the expression on his valiant scout. The humans all had mixed expressions of awe and confusion. All of them were quiet.

He looked to Regulus. He returned his gaze, level, unflinching, no indication of his inner thoughts. He took a deep breath and turned to look at Mercedes.

Their eyes met and her face crumpled in tears. He immediately pulled her to him, embracing her, comforting her. "I'm sorry, Mercedes."

She cried her heart out. He hadn't known holoforms were capable of tears. She shook in his arms for a full minute as he kissed her hair and ran his hands soothingly over her back. "W-what are you s-sorry about?" She hiccupped softly and raised up to look in his eyes, searching for an explanation.

His brow drew in consternation. "I'm sorry for not standing behind you, leading the others better. I'm sorry for failing you. The Prophetess practically blamed me for Ironhide attacking you."

"What?" She looked over at Ironhide's Topkick and back at Optimus. "I must have missed something. I saw—she showed me horrible things…battles…" She glanced at Regulus and quickly away. Fear seemed to have her shaking like a leaf. She looked at Optimus with such an expression…What had she seen?

"Ironhide, please come forward."

Once more, he stepped out of his truck. Optimus hadn't seen his weapons specialist that haunted for a very long time…not since…

"What did the Prophetess show you?"

Ironhide's bleak eyes bore a hole into Mercedes'.

"What did she say to you, Ironhide?"

"I was stripped of every weapon and watched…all of you…so much I couldn't do. I had nothing." His hands twisted into fists, his eyes still staring at Mercedes. "I had _Nothing_."

This was strange. Very strange. The Prophetess had chosen this moment and used Mercedes' anger to show them their worst fears. Why?

"Regulus?"

"I saw many things, none of which I fully understand as yet. My input may not be…useful."

That was wise. Such wisdom coming from such a young bot. He felt his mate calm in his arms.

"Mercedes?" He gently pulled her away to an arms' length. "How do you feel now that you've seen…" He glanced at Regulus, "what you've seen?"

She saw him look at their son. Her gaze hardened, focused. Her voice shook with deep emotion. "I'm ready to do anything to stop it from happening. Whatever it takes."

Optimus nodded. "Ironhide? What about you?"

His jaw was clenched so tightly, he could see his muscles jump. He finally looked at Optimus and nodded. "The same. I will not have that happen."

Optimus addressed the rest of the group. "Have any of you had any revelations or feelings of resolution?" He was half afraid of the answer. How far had the power stretched?

Bumblebee was the first to speak. "I saw…one of us…fall. I would end my spark before I would let that happen."

That struck a bit of caution in Optimus' spark. Ratchet followed. "My—I can't—I don't know how to explain…but, yes. I am experiencing a similar level of resolve. I never wish to have that particular occurrence happen again."

Optimus arched a brow at that. His medical officer was, of the set, the least emotional. He seemed the most shaken. That was for another time, however. He turned his eyes to the humans, huddled between Bumblebee and Ratchet. "None of you have spoken. Did you not have the same effect?"

Sam, always the most vocal, spoke for them all. "We just saw a really bright ball of blue go all supernova over you guys. Glen is worried about the cameras and his job, now, but the rest of us are just weirded out." The rest of them nodded.

Interesting. Why would his Autobots need resolution but not the humans? He needed time to think about this and the road was the best place for thinking. "Glen, how probable is it for your store's security to check the records this morning?"

"I-I-I—"

Maggie spoke for him. "If they're like most large retail, unless they have a reason to look over here, it's possible they didn't get it on camera. We're far enough away that the vehicles might have blocked their view."

Optimus looked back at Glen. "Are you all right to go to work as scheduled?"

He nodded rapidly. "Uh-huh."

"Okay, then get going. We'll do the same. Autobots, roll out!"


	12. Chapter 12: Remembrance

The drive was long. Every few miles, Optimus couldn't help but remember the day the Cube selected him to carry the Matrix. The day Megatron betrayed him. It kept rolling over his mental imagery, replaying in a sadistic loop.

"Step down, brother, you know I'm the better between us. You've never taken the training to heart, no matter how much father favored you." Megatron spat the last of the sentence bitterly. That had long been a point of contention between them. Optimus still thought that father pushed Megatron harder because he saw more of himself in the youngest of the two.

That still didn't explain why the Cube chose Optimus in the selection ceremony. Megatron was prepared. He was the one every bot expected to be chosen as the next leader. Optimus was the most surprised out of everyone when the Cube, in a reduced form, hesitated over Megatron but sailed past to hover over his own head. He still felt the energy, the rush of the passage of memory. "Megatron, I can't. The spark is the only thing that can relinquish the host of the Matrix. Without a successor selected, I will be relegated to a pain-filled stasis if I try to remove the Matrix from my system."

Megatron scoffed and continued pacing like a creature caged. "That's an old mech's tale to keep skittish rulers in their place. How could memory removal cause pain?"

Optimus couldn't answer. The information was just…there. "It's not just memory, but a part of me, now."

"The Matrix is programmed to make you feel like you can't give it up. It's a defense mechanism so it can't be deleted." Megatron lunged forward and crushed his hand to Optimus' outer spark casing. "Give it to me. It's mine."

This was the worst temper he'd ever seen his brother engage in. He asked for his own brother to…? Their people needed a level temperament to lead. Ruthlessness and spontaneous anger would only cause problems. "Megatron, even if I could, I'm not sure I want to give it up now." Perhaps… "This decision was made for a reason, and I think it chose _me_ for a reason." He pushed his brother's hand away from his spark casing and stepped aside.

Megatron clubbed down hard on Optimus' shoulder. It was still sore from their most recent sparring match. "You're a fool and a weakling. Neither should be leaders. Optimus, you know I would be better than you." He shoved down on the damaged circuitry in his shoulder, pushing Optimus to his knees. They'd never deliberately hurt one another. He was too shaken by this new side of his brother to respond in defense.

Perhaps it was power he wanted. "That may be. But, brother, you can be my Second. I need someone I can trust. It's a position of power and influence. Father was Atreus' Second."

Megatron's blue optics flickered red. "You and I both watched father be played like a botling's toy. That's why he trained us. I'm the one who beat him in sparring. I won the right to be FIRST!" He shoved down farther into Optimus' damaged receptors. The pain was excruciating. Optimus finally had enough and pressed to a stand, twisting his brother's arm in a lock. Megatron maneuvered out of the hold and swung hard at Optimus seconds after he shifted his face guard into place. Megatron's optics were solid red now. "You toss me seconds! Like always, I am relegated to your second. Second in line, second to train, second in father's favor, second in command…for once, Optimus, I want to lead! This will be _mine_!" He swung again and connected hard at his audial receptors.

Optimus closed his spark guard and prepared to fight. He had no illusions that Megatron would stop at sparring rules this time. Yet he still had to make Megatron understand, "I never let father push you aside. Not if I could stop him."

The red glow bathed Megatron's faceplates. "Don't you think I know that? Every time I was included in the first level of training, it was because of your request. I had to prove myself over and over. I finally beat father in a spar, finally get the recognition I deserve and yet again I am pushed aside for YOU! Damn the energy that created us! I am sick of being SECOND!" He rushed Optimus in a full shoulder tackle. Optimus stepped aside and pushed Megatron to face plant on the hard metal ground. He recovered and spun his leg out to drop Optimus. He landed on the metal with a crunch, but hammered his fist into the chest rising above him. He had to get up. Megatron outweighed him, he'd never win this fight on the ground without rules. He rolled with the punch to a crouch and quickly scrambled backwards out of Megatron's reach.

Megatron rushed again, this time watching his footing and changing tack as soon as Optimus shifted his stance. Optimus brought his elbow to Megatron's shoulder plates, then arced back across to drive his elbow into his chest plates. Megatron staggered back a few paces, but recovered quickly enough that Optimus never saw his plasma rifle draw.

But he'd heard it and, before his mind could register that his own brother had drawn a weapon against him, he had drawn his own. They stood there, staring at each other. One with hatred burning red in his optics, the other with betrayal dulling the normally bright blue to white. He watched in confusion as a tiny flicker of pale blue tinted Megatron's optics before he withdrew his weapon and started running off in the direction of…

"Megatron, what—where are you going?" He ran a few paces behind.

"To the executive council. I wish to dispute the selection. You are not fit to be leader of our people."

Optimus was now abreast with his brother. "Megatron!"

Apparently he remembered that Optimus had always been faster. Optics, bright red, flared in his direction. "No, brother. I will NOT stand aside for this! I am the rightful choice!"

"You cannot do this. It will kill me."

"You only think that because the Matrix wants you to."

Optimus chanced one more attempt to stop him. He stopped hard with a hand against his brother's chest plates. It stopped them both, but only succeeded in angering him further. "No, Megatron. I will die. My spark will terminate and my body will go into a stasis until a successor is selected."

"You don't know that."

Megatron's red optics were so…foreign. "You would take that chance?"

They narrowed as his voice dropped to a deadly low pitch. "I will do whatever it takes to become leader of Cybertron."

Optimus had been devastated. His own brother had been willing to kill him over something out of both their control. He wouldn't find out until later that Omega had been manipulating Megatron even then. And now he was risking his—Cybertrons'—most precious possession, the very thing Megatron destroyed at the council when they refused his suit.

After all this time, Optimus still had hope that Megatron…well. At first, it was the principle that he couldn't leave his brother's body to be experimented on like some lesser creature in a laboratory. When Mercedes told him he was online and feeling pain, a part of him he was ashamed of felt satisfied. The greater part of him pushed that aside for brotherly protection. Now it was more important than ever to get Megatron back. If he was online…after the energy he absorbed from the cube…would he be any different?

"Optimus?"

He shook himself out of reverie. Memories could wait. He responded on the private com frequency he had with each individual on his team. "Yes, Ironhide?" He remembered he needed to set that link up with both Mercedes and Regulus.

"Permission to speak freely, sir." The hesitation in Ironhide's voice reminded him of the scene in the parking lot, earlier.

"Of course, old friend." Optimus made sure his tone was most accepting of his Second. What would life be like if Megatron had become that, instead of Jazz? And now Ironhide. He felt a sadness that Jazz's body lay broken in a hangar at the air base the military let them use as a home.

"Optimus, I…I understand Mercedes has become…important. What I don't understand is how—why…her?"

He had been hesitant to think on that. He hadn't asked Mercedes when they were together last night. "Honestly, Ironhide, I'm not sure. I can see why you have been suspicious. She has been put conveniently in our path and now all of a sudden has become that which we need to revive our world. Such a gift given so unexpectedly and without trial should be questioned."

"Does _she_ know?"

"I—I haven't asked."

"Hmph. Too busy sparking."

That was too close to the truth. "Ironhide…"

"Just kidding. She's all right with me as long as I can train her with weapons. I'm not sure how effective a little blue lightning would be in a fight."

"You didn't feel it?" Optimus was surprised. Such energy and Ironhide hadn't felt it?

"All I felt was the vision."

That must have truly been a disturbing vision to preclude any external sensory preceptor input. "May I ask what you saw?"

"If it's all right with you, sir, I'd rather not talk about it."

Ironhide was never one to keep quiet about things. This was unusual. "All right, but on the condition that should I need the information you will share it with me."

"Agreed." Ironhide dropped the com link before he could say any more.

What had the others seen? He thought about opening com links to Ratchet, but something stopped him. Something in the back of his mind that told him not to travel that route. For the moment, he conceded and concentrated on driving.

Apparently the rain had traveled this way.


	13. Chapter 13: Pick

The rain was getting heavier. He opened a com link. "Bumblebee, find us a place to pull over. I don't think it's safe for Regulus and Mercedes to drive in this rain."

"I think you'll find they're doing well. We're not that far from the site, according to Mercedes."

When had Bumblebee and Mercedes talked? Most likely while he was stuck in a memory loop. Oh. And she probably needed to give their scout directions. He would have shaken his head at himself were he able to.

Mercedes interrupted. "Actually, Optimus dear, I've technically got more driving experience than you do. I just don't have to worry about my response time now."

He heard spurts of disjointed laughter over the frequency. He should have kept the link private.

Ironhide was the first to dig in. "Hey, Optimus dear, did you fix that kink from last night?"

Mercedes giggled. He groaned. "Oh, Primus."

Bumblebee followed up. "Yes, I heard you had your cylinder count mixed up, too."

Mercedes laughed so loud it tingled his sensors. Redirection was needed, immediately. "Regulus, do you feel up to driving in this weather?"

"Yes, sir. I was able to draw from Mercedes' experience to know how to drive in these conditions."

He was already able to assimilate experiences as well as information? "You were?" The rain started to dissipate.

"Yes. She seemed like the logical choice from which to derive driving conditions and their proper responses."

Mercedes chimed back in. "Oh brother! Optimus, he's got your stuffiness. Reggie, honey, you've got to loosen up."

"Reggie?" What an undignified shortening.

"Why not?"

How rediculus. "Indeed."

"There you go again."

"I am not stuffy."

"Yes, you are." Several of the others giggled at the interchange between him and Mercedes. The rain stopped altogether.

"She has a point, sir." Which made it all the more irritating coming from Ratchet. Although he had 'loosened up' recently since the power line incident. Now they had to monitor him whenever they were near a substation. That wasn't the point at hand, however.

"For the simple reasons that I speak correctly and act responsibly? If that's stuffy, then so be it."

They laughed. This was getting out of hand. He had to regain control or he was sure there would be more embarrassment. The bots might even mention that incident on the control deck on Cybertron…"So how far away are we?"

Mercedes responded. "About thirty minutes." The sun came out.

Ratchet surprised Optimus with a sigh. "Thank Sentience, it's been hours. That rain made the road extremely grimy."

Ironhide teased their medical officer back. "You want to drive through a car wash, Ratchet?"

"It would be nice, but I doubt I'd fit."

Bumblebee joined in the picking. "I'm sure you could figure out how to wash yourself with your holoform."

"That sounds like a good idea."

"We could put the humans to work on it." Actually, Ironhide did have a good idea. Optimus wondered if Mercedes would want to wash the rig?

"Hey!" Mikaela interrupted his wandering thoughts.

Ironhide rejoined with, "Well, what else are you good for, other than a wash and wax?"

"We didn't come along to be your maintenance crew."

"You still have to earn your keep."

Maggie had so far kept quiet, but piped up at that. "I don't know about Sam and Mikaela, but I think I've earned my keep during the drive."

"Oh really?" There seemed to be a new dynamic between Ironhide and Maggie. She must have ridden with him this time.

"Yes, really. Ironhide, you would have been bored to death if I hadn't been playing multi-level chess with you this whole trek."

Sam sounded confused. "What kind of chess?"

"You know how chess works?"

"Yeah."

"Well, put other boards above and below it and interplay the movements to any board."

"Holy crap. I suck at regular chess."

He didn't know how much more of this banter he could take. Mercedes was yet again true to her name and mercifully interrupted. "As cool as all that is, we've got to come up with an entry plan before we get to this place, so maybe pulling over isn't such a bad idea."

Bumblebee took the hint. "There's a truck stop ahead. It looks sufficient."

Optimus hung back as all the others rolled in and gathered in a semi-secluded part of the parking lot. They were bordered on two sides by thick woods and a few rigs. It would be as private as they could get. He pulled to a stop next to Mercedes.

Ratchet looked around and spied the diner attached to the gas station, not but fifty feet away. "We can't transform. There are too many humans around."

Optimus took the lead. "That's easily circumvented. Holoforms and humans only. Step out."

They convened in a circle for the second time that day. Sam opened with a question. "So is this a military base we're going to or what?"

Mercedes was the only one who could answer. "It's a research lab, dug down into one of the mountains. No one can get in or out without prior authorization from a committee or one of the sponsoring corporate boards."

"How long does that take?" Mikaela hadn't spoken much since Optimus had known her, but when she did, it was usually something direct. He appreciated that.

"If they'd even talk to us? Weeks, maybe months." That didn't sound in their favor. He started sorting through infiltration methods, plans of multiple-wave entry versus a lone reconnoiter. They needed to know security details, structure plans…

He heard Maggie speak. "Ah. Okay. So how do we get in, then? Your dad?"

"Huh. Hardly. We're not exactly on speaking terms." Optimus remembered when he'd asked about her family. She'd said she didn't have any immediate family, but then saw her father as the one experimenting on Megatron. And one other bot. For the first time, he wondered who the other bot was. And what caused the rift between her and her father. Mercedes interrupted his thoughts. "Here's a question for the Autobots: How far can holoforms transmit and can they do so through a mountainful of granite?"

Ratchet replied first. "I've never been able to get a holoform to stay solid farther than ten feet away."

Mercedes looked surprised. "Really? Only ten feet?" Optimus thought about it. He'd never really tried to push his holoform to find any limits. He preferred to work in his natural form.

"Well, some of us apparently still have kinks to work out." Optimus' mouth dropped open. Ironhide was never going to let him live that one down, was he? He heard a few stifled chuckles in the group.

Thank Sentience for Mercedes interrupting yet again. "Seriously, guys, we need to know what we can and can't use. How much damage can a holoform take? This feels just like when I was…human…so what other similarities are there?"

Ratchet was again ready with a response. "We're not sure since we've never tried them in combat. We didn't even create holoforms until after the Battle at Mission City. I've never seen any of us use a holoform successfully farther than ten feet away."

"Hmm." She started walking away from the Kompressor. He noticed, appreciatively, that she was still wearing the black leather clothing from this morning. He watched her walk in a straight line away from the hood of her car towards the trees. Ten feet. Fifteen feet. Twenty feet. She walked in a circle around the other vehicles. There was no change in her signal strength. "Huh. Regulus?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Ma'am?" Ironhide was in a good mood this afternoon. Maggie must have been a good influence. Either that or the multi-level chess. At least that game wouldn't scramble his processors.

Mercedes chastised him softly. "Hush, 'Hide."

"Yes, ma'am." She arched a brow at Ironhide, but Optimus watched her lips twitch, ready to smile. Such complexity. How fascinating.

She redirected her gaze to their son. "Regulus, can you walk over here?"

He flipped one side of his long duster out of his way and strode confidently over to Mercedes.

"Hmmmm. What do you think, Ratchet?"

Optimus looked to Mercedes in surprise. Why wasn't she asking his opinion?

Ratchet started walking towards her, but after about ten feet, started flickering. He couldn't proceed past eleven feet. Bumblebee got to about twelve feet before flickering and Ironhide, while he didn't make past fifteen feet, was very proud that he got farther than Ratchet and Bumblebee.

All eyes swung to Optimus. He pushed away from the hot fender of his rig and started walking towards Mercedes. His irritation was mollified by the obvious appreciation in her gaze. Before he knew it, he'd reached her.

"Hi." She looked up at him with a spark in her eyes that spoke of their previous evening together.

"Hello." He would have said much more if Regulus hadn't saved him.

"Perhaps we should attempt walking in buildings?"

"Eventually, but first…" Optimus looked around. "We need to find a place more secluded. I have something I'd like to show the other Autobots that might prove useful in this endeavor."

Ratchet was the first to respond. "A map indicates such an area a few paces in that direction." His holoform pointed through the trees.

Mercedes planted her hands on her hips. "Well, that's convenient." His lips quirked at her light sarcasm.

"Bumblebee, scout it out."

He affected an accent from the northern part of Britain. "Aye, Captain."

Mercedes and the other humans giggled. "What?"

"He means that he'll do it."

"I know what he meant, but what was funny?"

Ratchet was ready with another answer. "He's apparently taken a liking to the human television program called Star Trek." The humans outright laughed when Ratchet said the name of the show.

Optimus wondered if the other bots also made the discovery of some women's fascination with Data. Mercedes started humming a tune he didn't recognize from the files he'd downloaded of the show. "What are you humming?"

She attempted to talk through her giggles, and eventually warbled out: "_Star-trekkin' across the universe/Boldly going forward when we should go reverse."_

Maggie giggled. "I haven't heard that song in ages. I have that CD at home."

Thankfully Sam asked the question so he didn't have to. "What CD?"

"Doctor Demento. It's hilarious."

"What is it, like, a parody or something?"

"Yeah, he does a lot of parodies and skits. You'd probably like it, Sam."

Optimus searched the web for information on the song. He chuckled. He listened to a skit on Tae Kwon Leap. He snorted. "Ha." He tried to stifle his laughter. "Hee hee…" He turned around, away from his comrades. "Boot to the head. HAhahahahahaaaa!" He doubled over in laughter.

Ironhide must have come across the same file, for he started laughing too. Ratchet looked between the two of them and back to the humans. He quirked an eyebrow. "It's life, Jim, but not as we know it."

Mercedes could hardly talk, but managed to squeak out: "Not as we know it."

Maggie followed in a round: "Not as we know it."

The entire group was engulfed in laughter.

Regulus recovered quickly. "All right guys, seriously, we need to head to that clearing. Bumblebee? Is it okay?"

"It scans out fine."

"Okay, so let's get to it." It seemed strange that Regulus had already picked up on phrases from Bumblebee. He seemed to take in so much and so quickly. He saved that conundrum for a later time. They needed to focus on the task at hand.

He chortled.

Boot to the head.

He laughed quietly to himself.

Indeed.


	14. Chapter 14: Focus

Optimus showed the other bots the folding transformation. They took to it well.

Bumblebee perhaps a bit too well. He kept folding and refolding to see how small he could get. Ratchet was questioning how Optimus came across this knowledge when Maggie came back from making a few phone calls.

"They've got Megatron in two separate locations in the mountain and one hell of a security system. The plans are amazing." She unfolded her laptop onto Regulus' tailgate while everyone crowded around.

Mercedes squeezed her holoform closer. "How the hell did you find that out?"

Maggie winked back. "I get by with a little help from my friends."

"Huh?" Maggie and Mercedes both turned twinkling eyes to Sam, who was at as much of a loss as he was.

She explained. "I placed a phone call to Glen and he hacked into their servers." She turned back to the computer and opened up a web page. Schematics and specifications streamed through three different windows. "He said it was the second most complicated system he's ever seen."

"What was the first?" Sam blinked. Maggie turned slowly back to him.

She arched her left eyebrow.

"Oh. Yeah. Okay, so he found all that out from their servers?"

She went back to organizing the windows. "Well, not exactly." She glanced up at Optimus. "He found that they purchased the 'wreckage' from a private scavenger vessel that worked the area around the Laurentian Abyss. Apparently the current was strong enough that the body didn't go straight down. They've been working on tearing Megatron apart for the last week." She brought up images of the vessel coming in to port.

Mikaela peered over Sam's shoulder to try to see. "Wow, they really moved fast, didn't they?"

Maggie's expression was hesitant. She kept glancing up at Optimus. As if she were afraid of telling them something. "That's not all."

He realized she was. "What."

"Glen found a file on the acquisition of the other bot."

Ironhide was just as impatient as he felt. "Well?"

"I think it's Jazz." Maggie's eyes winced as she said it.

Jazz!? "What?" How did they get him? The airbase was not even an active one, just used for storage and training. How? Optimus faced away, thinking hard. This completely changed how they would treat this mission. The bots would get emotionally involved, now. He let himself have a moment of selfishness. Part of him was glad that they would become as frantic as he had been to perform this mission. The greater part of him, the part that always, always acted…was ashamed of that little tiny spark of selfishness. Jazz…

Maggie spoke and snapped Optimus out of his downwardly spiraling thoughts. "The file said it was collected after a tipoff sent them to a low-budget air base in Southeast California. They hint at having to wait until dark to sneak in and get the _two_ parts."

Bumblebee was pacing. Ironhide pounded his fist into the ground, creating a small crater and almost shaking everyone off their feet. "No. NO. They can't have Jazz. It must be a coincidence."

Maggie's face was full of sorrow. She never knew Jazz. What did she care about him? "They mark this file as 'Solstice' wreckage." She bravely walked up to the angrily shuddering Ironhide and reached up his folded form to his shoulder. She didn't care as much about Jazz as how it was affecting Ironhide…

Optimus was glad to see him create a friend.

Bumblebee stepped in front of him. "Optimus, we have to get in there. We can't let them defile Jazz's frame. It's not right."

Optimus looked at Ratchet, who studiously ignored his leader and focused on the ground. Hard.

He understood there was a fine line between following orders and wanting to follow those orders. Here was proof. None of them had wanted to save Megatron, they were just doing their duty. But now that Jazz…he shook his head. He knew he was the only one of the group that knew Megatron before. He couldn't blame them for not having the same emotions as him. He swallowed the bitter sadness and focused on the task.

"How was Glen able to get a plan of the building?"

Maggie ducked her head. She looked at Optimus, but not at Ironhide. "He searched their system, but couldn't find any schematics." She walked back to the laptop. "I did, however, call in a favor from a new friend. He was able to get me a plan." She chanced a look at Ironhide.

Mercedes was the one who asked. "How did you manage that?"

Maggie carefully kept her gaze on the computer screen. "One of the FBI officers that escorted us to the Hoover Dam. We began seeing each other after that."

Hmm. It must have not been a very successful endeavor. She'd been with their camp for four days, joining right before Mercedes stumbled upon them. Optimus almost didn't hear Ironhide mutter, "So that was the mysterious phone call last night."

She redirected. "Yeah. Well, he got me the plans. Or, at least one part. He said the set was broken up into ten locations all over the country. He couldn't get a foundation plan, but I figured the electrical plan was better, anyway. Take a look."

She brought up a switching detail of a huge facility, if the scale was to be believed. He focused in his apertures to get a closer look.

"Glen suggested we try entry…here." She pointed to a wiring conduit that would easily fit several humans. "It's a weak point in their defenses. He found their security 'schedule'. They go into a lockdown at intermittent periods several times a day, which changes according to the whim of a Doctor Baker."

"Oh, crap." Optimus retracted his focus and looked to Mercedes. She shoved out of the gathering a bit and crossed her arms. She kicked the dirt into a small cloud.

"What."

She rounded on them. She looked…angry? "Unless we can figure out what integer sequence he's fascinated with this week, we'll never be able to crack that timing."

"I'm assuming this is your father?"

"Unfortunately."

Optimus could feel her agitation roll off her in waves. How did she get her holoform to affect the very air around her? It didn't seem to cover the complete situation for her to get this upset over an unknown integer sequence. "We may be able to observe and gain a pattern."

The look in her eyes said there was much more than numbers to her agitation. "That may or may not work. We don't know _so_ many variables to his little math party." He realized she was speaking from a bad experience. Optimus wanted to go to her, comfort her, but there was so much to be done. They had very little time, if any. The mission. He had to focus on saving his brother and his second in command from unthinkable torture.

"Maggie, thank you. This was excellent work." He searched the Matrix for clues to their next step. His optics caught a pair of eyes staring through him. "Regulus?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Have you something to add?"

"I—" He looked at Mercedes, who returned his gaze curiously wary. "I'm not sure."

"You look as though you've thought of a possibility."

He looked thoughtful, attempted speech once, decided against it and started again. "Well…are we trying to get in, or trying to get them out?"

"Yes, that's good. We may not have to enter the building, but how?" He directed the question only to Regulus. He wanted to test his logic and strategy to see where next he needed to be trained. "What would make them bring their prized acquisitions outside?" He looked between Ratchet and Ironhide. Ratchet had remained oddly quiet through this entire interchange. Something was wrong. There was something missing in his memory banks…something important.

Regulus replied. "A false request?" The discovery of memory missing was disturbing, but again, he found himself refocusing. So much to think about.

"Good. Very good." He'd put him with Ironhide next. His logic was fine for the moment. Defense was more important right now.

What kind of request would get them outside? He looked around. He felt the sun beating down on his plates. Of course. Testing for solar reactivity.

Something Maggie said earlier triggered an important question.

"Maggie, you said they have Megatron in _two_ locations…did they list in what way or where?" He was afraid of the answer, but needed to know. He felt more than saw Ratchet's gaze.

"Um…yes…" She looked uncomfortable. "They have his central chest cavity in a safe room over…here." She pointed to a part of the screen indicating a room on the far interior of the facility. "And his body is in the evaluation room…here." She pointed again, and looked warily up at Optimus.

Merciful Sentience…they had separated his memory core. If there was anything left of Megatron... Optimus staggered. _Megatron_…

He vaguely heard Bumblebee tell the others that without his core, his frame couldn't regenerate, and vice versa. Why wasn't Ratchet explaining this? He fixed his apertures onto his medical officer. Ratchet averted his gaze immediately. He narrowed his own gaze.

_Refocus_, he told himself, _again_. They had to retrieve Megatron soon.

"Did the records say when they separated the core from the frame?"

"Actually, yes. They removed it yesterday."

His breath hitched. Removed. Like an unwanted growth. _Removed_.

But yesterday. There was still time to save him. "Have they performed the same task on Jazz?"

"Not that Glen could find. That doesn't mean that it couldn't have happened today."

"All right. We have to plan this out, but we have to move fast." He straightened his stance and faced the group fully. "Maggie, call Glen back and see if he can plant a false request to test solar effects on the body. Regulus, do what you can to help." They both nodded.

He turned an irritated gaze to Ratchet. "You and Mercedes work on getting into that safe room. I want that memory core." Ratchet's optics widened as he shuffled backwards. His optics flew from his to Mercedes, but she only watched Optimus.

"We'll do what we can." Optimus nodded and turned to the next order.

"Bumblebee, I want you to take Sam and Mikaela and find any kind of oversized trailer that will fit my rig. Something big enough for Megatron and Jazz. Get back to me when you've found at least two options and we'll figure out how to obtain it from there."

Sam grabbed Mikaela's hand and scooted into Bumblebee's Camaro. The others had huddled into their groups. That left...

"Ironhide…You and I need to plan how to take Megatron's body and Jazz if they fall for the solar testing request."

He walked up to stand beside his leader, ready for action. "And if they don't?"

Optimus didn't mistake the martial gleam in his eyes. "Well, old friend, that's where your specialty comes in. We'll just have to figure out a way around the shutdown sequence, should that happen."


	15. Chapter 15: Synch

They found a campsite close to the foot of the mountain that cradled the research facility. The sun had set and Optimus was relieved that he finally had time to process the myriad of information from the past two days. Everyone was settling in for the evening. Ratchet and Regulus were standing away from the group, talking about tomorrow most likely. Bumblebee and Ironhide were joking and talking with the humans.

He watched the humans divide their rations. They would gain sleep tonight. The Autobots would stay vigilant. The security detail said nothing about ground sweeps, but if Optimus had been in charge, there would be. So they watched.

He sighed and looked over at Mercedes sitting, in her holoform, next to the humans. They were fighting with a bag of tortilla chips someone had procured from the truck stop, trying to get it open. Mercedes grabbed the bag with a good-natured huff and pinched the top of the bag to pull it apart.

It ripped entirely in half, dropping little blue triangles into her lap. She just sat there in shock, staring at the two halves of bag in her hands. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Oh, God. I—"

"It's okay, Mercedes, things happen."

Mikaela kindly took the remnants from Mercedes' hands and balled them up with a crackly crunchy sound that irritated Optimus' audial sensors. She got up from the log they were all sharing and dumped it in a trash barrel at the edge of the clearing. He watched Mercedes watch Mikaela and saw glimmers of panic start to edge into her eyes.

She caught his gaze, like a small mammal trapped in a bright light.

And just like that, she swallowed her panic. He watched her literally swallow her emotions down, take a deep breath, and offer him a smile. It didn't last very long, for she dropped her gaze to her hands, which were shaking. She occupied them with transferring the chips to a paper plate Maggie handed her, then she wrapped her fingers around the hem of her skirt and pressed her knees together. Her lips were drawn tight.

All that emotion over breaking a bag of rations? He started to go to her, but before he could take one step in his folded form, she blinked out. Her Kompressor behind her transformed and walked determinedly over to Ratchet and Regulus, who were discussing something very intently.

The humans shared a sympathetic look between them.

He watched her talk to the other Autobots. Everyone had accepted Mercedes as part of the group. She laughed a little at something Ratchet said. It was good that she was accepted, but how did she feel? She'd been so composed up until that little bag of chips. It occurred to him that she may not be as adjusted as he thought she was.

_She stands alone._

The Prophetess' words haunted him in that moment. No one had stopped to ask her how she felt, no longer being human. Would she miss it? She'd said she didn't regret it.

He wondered for the first time what Ratchet found in his initial scan. Not human, but not Autobot. What was she, then? What did Ratchet see?

He couldn't hear what they said across the clearing. The campfire was low and the humans were settling down to sleep. He walked over to inspect the flatbed trailer he'd use tomorrow to haul Megatron and Jazz to safety. Bumblebee, Sam and Mikaela had found it on its side in a ravine. They'd been lucky.

Optimus checked the hitch and the tires. They seemed fine, but he wasn't really concentrating on his task. He was attempting to listen in on their conversation. It was close enough to hear some of what they were saying, but far enough away that they might not notice him.

Even at full-size, Mercedes was still smaller than Ratchet's or Regulus' folded size. It seemed Optimus wasn't the only bot that felt it much more equalizing to be closer to human form. Personally, it saved him a lot of worry over stepping on one of the humans.

He amplified his audio reception.

Regulus sounded annoyed. "We can't just generate our holoforms in the base. It would send off all kinds of alarms and not to mention we wouldn't know what we were popping into. For all we know, we could apparate right into a vat of boiling acid or something."

Mercedes' expression was not amused. "Well, I don't think we can just brave our way in there. If we don't get past the initial security stage, we'll have to get Dad involved. The last time I saw him, he was walking out of the psychiatric ward, leaving me to mend from my accident last year. He might just as soon have me taken into custody than listen to anything I have to say."

Ratchet spoke up. "Perhaps we can use that. If he thinks you are sick and need to speak with him, he may be willing to allow you entry."

"I can't think of any reason for him to let me in. You don't know him. He's not normal. He'd just look at me and deny I exist. He'd be tainted by association." There was truth and bitterness in her words. He could taste it. It made his spark ache. Had she _ever_ known love? What about her mother?

"Perhaps if one of us posed as someone he knows in the scientific world? Someone that might be able to convince your father that he should scan you. I'm sure that what he would find would be interesting."

"Oh, God, Ratchet, why not stake me and cart me in there like some guinea pig?" She sounded horrified.

Regulus was quick to amend the suggestion. "Only to get us inside. I'll go with you. I won't let them do anything to you."

Her gaze darted between the two. "Reggie, I don't know. I'd like to think of a better plan to start off with first."

Ratchet relentlessly offered another option. "Do you think you can alter your holoforms, to look like someone else? Perhaps someone that works there?"

Mercedes cupped her palm over her forehead. "I don't know." She sounded tired. Did she know how to gain resources from the land? She'd seemed to know everything else by instinct, but if his assumptions made her ill, he'd never forgive himself. She lowered her hand and took a deep breath. "That's a good idea, though. Can we access a staff list?"

"Probably."

Regulus was apparently a rather cautious planner. "Wait. What do we do if we run into the person we're imitating?"

Ratchet was ready with a response. "We can just alter into one of the people that comes out to help set up the solar test. Then we could incapacitate and hide them while one of you goes inside and breaks into the safe room."

She nodded and tapped her cheek in thought. The sound apparently startled her, for she jerked and looked at her hand. She flexed the jointed steel digits and shook her head with small little jerky movements. Another deep breath. "How big is the memory core?"

"By your measurements? About twenty to thirty pounds. The weight you could handle, but the size may be a problem."

"How much of a problem?"

"Depending on how much of his…frame…is still attached to the core?" Was that emotion, coming from Ratchet? On a clinical matter? Optimus was surprised, but hadn't time to process it before Ratchet continued. "Possibly up to three feet long and two feet in diameter. At its smallest it would be about one foot in circumference."

"Hmm. We have to plan for the worst, so, maybe we can set up a gurney or something?"

"How do we get it in?"

"Perhaps it's more of a question of what they wheel out for the solar test?"

"Perhaps. We need to send someone to scout the area before we go barging in."

"Optimus already did that. He sent Bee off after they came back with the flatbed. We'll just have to pick his brains a bit before we do too much planning, but a lot of this will have to be on the fly since we don't know who or how many people will be helping with the experiment."

Optimus turned down his audio. He walked up to the three of them, passing by the now dim campfire. Ratchet straightened from his casual stance, optics wary. Optimus nodded and Ratchet quickly averted his apertures. He pretended to examine the fuse box under his arm plating.

Optimus had been prepared to run a defragmentation scan on his memory core for the missing memory link, but seeing Ratchet avert his gaze time and again made him wonder if he really needed to. He tried again to remember what he couldn't. He remembered Ratchet explaining a dissection dispassionately during his medical training one of the times he had gone in to review his progress. So unemotional, so very clinical. It's one of the things he'd come to count on from his medical officer.

He brushed the cobwebs from his mind and looked around the trio, settling his gaze upon his son. Regulus' penetrating blue optics were unreadable. He was reminded they needed to synch their wavelengths before morning. Better now than later. "Regulus, may I see you for a moment?"

He wanted to save his connection to Mercedes for the last. He sent her an intent look over his shoulder as he walked with Regulus over to the edge of the trees. She looked a little lost, perhaps a bit hurt. He sighed and faced his son, who watched him patiently.

He was always watching.

Watching where action was needed could be fatal. He needed to get some basic training with Ironhide, although he wasn't sure how much Regulus could absorb in one night.

Ah, well, such was war. Never stop, adapt or fail. He refocused on his son.

"We need to match frequencies for a private com link. I have one with each of my soldiers. It helps facilitate communication should there be any difficulties."

"I understand. What do I need to do?"

"In theory, it is easy, but not for all bots. You have to open your mental frequencies, but focus them at mine. We're forcing a biorhythm alignment. It allows us to have connection across great distances and through most obstacles."

"So…I just relax? And think at you?"

Overly simplified, but "Basically, yes."

Regulus shrugged. "Easy enough."

Optimus opened his mouth to coach the young bot through his first synching, but was immediately bombarded with images. It took his breath away. How was Regulus so facile at so many things? He allowed the imagery to wash over his mind in waves. He saw Mercedes through his eyes. He saw her as brave, strong, and scared. He worried for her. His primary emotion was to protect her. She was foremost in his thoughts and Optimus wondered what his son thought of the rest of the group.

The next wave of information gave him impressions of his training with Bumblebee. The fun they had transforming back and forth, the scout teaching the young bot about basic protocol and diplomacy. Of course Bumblebee would teach him diplomacy. His mother had been on the council.

He saw Ironhide with trepidation. He was interested in what he could learn, but was wary of the hot-tempered bot.

Ratchet was viewed with a sense of respect for his logic. There was a mutual interest in biology, but Regulus had been able to absorb all of Mercedes' schooling and all of her human knowledge. They had apparently synched when she brought him from a botling to full size.

Images of Mercedes' life flashed in quick succession, stopping only on things she, herself, harbored on. She clung to her mother in a hospital room, long dead beeps toning a lifetime of loneliness and grief to come.

Optimus felt, rather than saw, Mercedes in a very small, pitch black room with no means of escape. He heard her whisper numbers to herself, desperately tapping a keypad and crying. She'd been very young, perhaps eight years old. She'd clung to something soft in her free hand. Something that meant comfort in a dark place.

The view of Mercedes' life started to fade away as the frequency focused more closely on Regulus, himself. He felt a clawing urgency to prove himself to Optimus. He'd gained a view of his father from Mercedes and Bumblebee. He was awed and terrified at the same time he was proud to be _his_ son.

Underneath his personality, there was something else…something deeper, locked away…he reached for it, reaching…opening…finding…

Space…

Such space…Optimus saw a vertible galaxy of space inside his son. Void stretched in all directions beneath Regulus' thoughts. Places where knowledge and memory should be and had not yet been created, were filled with vast nothing.

The emptiness made Optimus ache. He opened up his frequency in response, trying to fill some of the emptiness.

The oddest part, he noted as thousands of memories flew from his mind to Regulus', was that Regulus didn't mind the abyss. He anticipated filling it. He was hungry to fill it. It ached for him, too, but where Optimus felt sadness, Regulus felt voracity. The more Optimus fed him knowledge, the more space opened up inside his son's mind.

He was a black hole for information. It was Optimus' turn to be awed and terrified. Battles, conferences, travels and emotions flew faster and faster between them, sucked into Regulus' ready memory.

He saw Megatron. The Day of Selection. The Day of Slaughter. The day Optimus and Megatron ceased to be brothers. They looked at the crumble of council members in the aftermath of Megatron's rage when they'd refused his suit. Optimus could still name them all. Their blank optics were burned into his memory. Especially Bumblebee's mother.

If Optimus didn't know any better, he'd have sworn that Regulus directed their thoughts away from that rusted day.

They watched as Optimus replayed a memory long forgotten. It was Optimus' first day of training. He'd rushed home to share his day with his younger brother, who was always eager to share their experiences. They looked much the same as they did now, only there was such innocence in both pairs of brightly shining blue optics.

He couldn't bear to think back that far, and just when he thought he couldn't take the painful dissonance any longer…

There.

He felt the harmony form. It was like a dancing sine wave growing between them. He allowed it to grow strong and eagerly backed down the million-year tidal wave of memories.

They came back to awareness of their surroundings with a resounding snap. Regulus took in a very deep breath and let it back out, shaking from the interchange. He looked at Optimus with a new light in his optics.

"Wow."

Optimus felt one side of his face lift in a tiny smile. A small, relieved laugh escaped his vocal processor. Regulus had picked up a lot of human from Mercedes.

"How do you feel?"

He thought about it. "Different." He thought about it more. "Sad. Better."

"How so?"

He could trust Regulus not to mention why he was sad. "It's nice to know that you were once like me…new."

That made Optimus laugh. "I haven't been 'new' for millions of years." Then he realized what his son just said. "You processed that much information? All the way back? I didn't even see that part of my frequency."

"Your frequency was so full, I had to break it down into multiples to process everything quickly enough."

Only the most advanced bots knew how to do that. Optimus himself hadn't mastered the technique completely yet. "How do you know to do these things that other bots take long years of training to learn?"

"I—honestly, I don't know. It just happens." His clear vision clouded. 'Is that okay?"

"Of course. I'm just surprised at your facility." He decided to leave out his revelation at the void inside Regulus. If he didn't pick it up in the synching, then it was better left unsaid. He may not even know that it was unusual.

/_I do know_/

"Pardon?"

"I know it's unusual." Optimus slammed his mental barriers into place. He should have known better than to hover on private thoughts right after a synching.

As Mercedes would say, Oh Crap.

"I'm going for a walk." Optimus looked up. "It's been far too long since I've looked at the stars."

"Shall I get Mercedes?"

He nodded. "Give me a few moments, though. Take your time." He took a step, then remembered. "Oh, Regulus?"

"Yes, sir?"

"After you tell Mercedes, approach Ironhide about your second set of training. It wouldn't hurt to have some knowledge before we start tomorrow."

"Will do." He watched Regulus fairly bounce away. He must have gained Optimus' knowledge and understanding of Ironhide, since he no longer seemed wary of him.

He looked up.

Optimus was half afraid of what would happen between him and Mercedes. They'd already had so many strange things happen in the past thirty hours. The sky was so full, here. Information he'd synched from Regulus poured through his mind. Mercedes had shown him Earth's view of astronomy.

He connected the tiny pinpricks of light into the shapes, thinking about the mythos each one represented from so many cultures.

A poem strayed into his thoughts, one Mercedes apparently cherished.

"How far away the stars seem…"

"And how far is our first kiss…" He swept his head around to stare at her. She wasn't supposed to come this soon. He wasn't ready.

But one look into her troubled, lost, and pleading face melted his small shade of reservation. She needed comfort. The poem's last line hung in the air between them, waiting to be spoken.

It was his turn.

"And ah, how old my heart."

* * *

A/N: The poem is by William Butler Yeats.


	16. Chapter 16: Heart

He watched the moonlight glint off her frame, sliding in and out of shadow like sparkling liquid. Optimus appreciated the perspective his folded form gave him in that moment. He saw things as he imagined she did. Large, dark, overwhelming trees hung over them, permitting only pinpricks of light to descend to the ground until she reached the clearing where he stood. He looked away before he intimidated her.

The stars seemed so far away, just as the poem described, but he had seen many of them and his memories made them close to his heart. He remembered she was studying to be an astronomer and wondered whether she'd made that decision before or after the Prophetess came to her.

Why did the Prophetess come to her? Why her? She seemed almost perfect for the role except that she had none of the training in protocol that a normally selected candidate for the Intuition would go through.

He couldn't resist looking back to her.

He watched her pick her way over a rock, over a fallen tree branch. She moved like a human, still. Her hands spread out away from her body as if she didn't know what to do with them. He remembered back and smiled. Perhaps she didn't.

She reached him and smiled shyly.

"Hi."

One breathless little word and he felt the weight of her uncertainty settle around him like armor. He responded in kind.

"Hello."

"It's kind of weird…to know that it's cold but not feel it." She looked at her hands, flexed them. They bothered her the most, it seemed. He reached out to hold them in his own.

"You can still feel it, just not in such a small degree. Space is very cold."

Her optics fixed on his in surprise. "Space?"

He nodded and drew her closer. He slid his now free hand across her shoulder plates, towards the sensitive cords of her neck, dancing them among the ridges and valleys there.

She shivered sharply as he hit a delicate spot and strummed it deftly, knowing he would elicit such a response. Her apertures remained focused on his but her breathing hitched. She reached her free hand up to his neck, searching to reciprocate. Her tiny fingers were cool against his warmth. She found the susceptible cord and gently pushed her fingertip up from the base of it to where it entered his helmet at his jawline.

He could barely contain the lust it provoked to have her touch him like that.

"It feels like a guitar string." He arched an optic ridge at the wonder in her voice. Perhaps it was time to show her the benefits and similarities between Autobot and human, as opposed to the differences she had been focusing on.

She smiled when she saw his brow lift. "You know, the musical instrument?"

"Yes, I know that to which you refer. I have just never touched one. Is that what…this…feels like?" He emphasized his wording with another stroke on the wire. It made a slight scritching noise when he used two fingers, almost like music. Her little moan in response was even more musical.

"Yes…" Her optics flickered, but flared brighter when the sensation stopped and focused back on him. "What else?"

He chuckled at her eagerness. "Else?"

She pulled down on the hand she still held until their vocals were near to touching. "What else feels like this?" Her free hand roamed his neck, leaving little twitching plates in its wake. She saw the reaction and watched them settle back down. She ran her hand in the same motion, only heavier.

Sweet Sentience that felt good! He felt his neck plates tremble in appreciation. She was like a botling with a new toy. She tried again, only this time with a very light, tickling brushing that made his whole frame shiver in growing quakes, lifting the tiny layers of plating underneath his camouflage like static.

He groaned and pulled her closer, where their chest plates pressed inward from the pressure. That little move pressed against the spark casing and at moments like these, felt very good. He held her there and bent down to use his lip plates against the mirrored sister of the neck cord he'd played on her other side. Little zips of electricity shot from his vocal processor to the conductive wire and transmitted over her frame, into his hands where he held her, and back into him.

The closed circuit was intoxicating. The more electrical pulses he used against her, the more feedback he received, the higher his lust for her climbed. "Mercedes."

As soon as he said her name, he felt her unconsciously start to synch their biowaves. Thoughts and memories flashed over him that he'd seen from Regulus, but this time, there was so much more depth to what he felt. He saw the dark room and felt her fear, her frustration, her tears sliding down her cheeks. In that moment, he was her.

He saw her father coldly walk away from the psychiatric ward just when she needed him the most. So many questions about her new body parts that he had provided, so many more about the strange voice coming from inside her…

Optimus couldn't stand the grief she felt when she saw her last living relative, her own father, turn away from her and walk out as if she were a total stranger. Up until that moment, she had held on to hope that he was just eccentric, just busy.

That moment when he walked away and locked her out of his life almost broke her. She'd cried for days on end, frustrated even further when the nurses wouldn't come near her after the strange voice rang through the ward.

He nuzzled her neck and held her tighter, helping her fight back down the rising tide of grief, still so new. And now she was angry and terrified that she would have to face her father tomorrow. A year of no contact, refused phone calls, and she would have to open the wound again.

He knew she would do it if he asked her to. She was different, stronger, now. But how?

The question brought images of her asking a nurse to record her the next time she had an

'episode'. The nurse had taken pity and set it up, afraid for Mercedes' sanity. Once she had seen the video, she no longer had any episodes and three months later, the hospital released her. All that had been shown in the video was what he had seen in the motel room of Mercedes' eyes glowing blue. What he heard, however, was slightly alarming.

"_A great leader will come from the sky, saving this world from the destruction of avarice. I have selected this woman to be my vessel, his intuition, his love. The old prophecy will be fulfilled."_

He felt his own synching response flowing into the moment before he could make sense of what was recorded.

Images of the council requesting candidates for the Matrix. His father pulling both he and Megatron aside after the council session and telling them they would both be candidates. His thoughts flew to hearing their parents discuss that Megatron would be a strong leader and Optimus the perfect counterpoint to be his Second. He was happy for his brother, and shared the eavesdropped information with him. The next day, Megatron defeated their father in a ritual sparring match and won the right to be First.

She shuddered in his arms as he remembered the Day of Selection. Their fight. Megatron's destruction of the council.

He pushed through those memories to show her each of his comrades. Jazz had been with him the longest. Jazz and Bumblebee had both had parents on the council and felt a duty to stand against Megatron in his fight against Optimus' governance.

Bumblebee had been too young to join the cabinet immediately, but as soon as he completed his training, he did. Ironhide had gained a noted reputation for weapons proficiency and Optimus had approached him just before Bumblebee came on.

Ratchet had been the last to attach to Optimus' troupe, right after completing his advanced medical training top of his class.

Optimus made sure Mercedes felt what he did. The immense respect and love he had for each of his comrades. They had all been through many battles and had proven to be a perfect balance to each other.

He tried to gloss over his concerns for Ratchet as of lately, but she might still have gained an impression. He wasn't sure.

He instead focused on their meeting, their son, this mission.

He noticed how easy it was to direct what he wanted to share with her as compared to Regulus, who had downloaded every living memory Optimus had. He relaxed and let her give more of her own thoughts.

He felt her fear at being different, her fear of looking in a mirror…knowing she wouldn't look like herself. She wrapped her arms more tightly around him as she thought over all the things that could go wrong. She was so afraid of this change. She had hidden it well, but flirting and anger could only go so far. He felt her unraveling in his arms, in his mind.

She started shaking uncontrollably with the shock of it all. She couldn't believe she wasn't human anymore. She was confused and angry that she wasn't really that upset about it.

She hated the thought that she had more Autobots care about her than humans. It left bitter thoughts trailing off her mind, little tidbits of the cruelty and sadness she'd experienced over her lifespan as a human.

She didn't regret it and that was the hardest thing for her to accept.

Everything felt right with Optimus. She was shocked that it felt okay to have a full grown son.

She loved Regulus fiercely and would protect him at any cost. He was the only person in the universe that was _hers_. She would never treat him the way she had been by her father. She was happy that she wouldn't die because that meant never leaving her Regulus. Or _him_.

She clung to Optimus like that soft thing in her hands that dark and desperate night when she was young and locked in a room.

He was her comfort, her light, her love. She loved him for his honor and strength, his patience and kindness. She loved him for being everything she'd ever wanted from her father and more.

It elated him.

He gave her all the admiration he felt for her courage and tenacity, her fierce loyalty and love. He gave her his oath to never leave her alone in the dark, to always protect her at all costs.

He made sure to show her that it was not for the Intution, but for the heart of her. Her very humanity was her greatest strength and he wanted her to know that it would always be a part of her. They weren't so very different, as Autobots. Her bold front in the face of such fear endeared her to him in a way that nothing else could.

He gave a fleeting thought to Elita and her sacrifice. He never felt this depth of emotion for her. She was a good friend and a greater Autobot, but she had never held him captive the way Mercedes did now.

With the proof of comparison shining in her optics, she reached up and met his mouth with hers for a sizzling, electric kiss. Their spark chambers shifted open and closed the circuit between them, sending arcs of current in great sweeps from one bot to another and charging the air.

Dust motes drifting around them caught fire and danced like fireflies before burning out. The wind blew in a tiny, soft tornado around them, spinning pine needles around their ankles. He felt all her thoughts and emotions twirl like the dust motes, spinning like the needles, all focusing on him.

_Him_.

She _loved_ him.

It was the shock of it finally settling in that sent him over the edge. His spark flared and overloaded into hers, causing her to do the same. A blue nimbus pulsed out for a moment and crashed back into the both of them in a wave of orgasm she had never known before.

His optics came online staring into hers. She smiled lazily and rested her head on his chest, drawing circles on his armor with her fingers.

He felt her take a rather impish turn of thought and before he could advise against the illogical pursuit, felt her holoform run her hands along his back plates. He opened his apertures. She was in his arms. And behind him. He knew it was her, but how…?

"Oh, Primus…" She licked right below his shoulder plate and sent the memory metal skittering in ripples down his arm and over his torso. "What are you doing?"

"Shhh. This way I can be all around you."

His spark pulsed little electrical signals to every wire and plate in his frame. Life would never be ordinary around this extraordinary female. She ran her bot-fingers under his chest armor and danced them across his protoform metal. She reached up to send a tiny shock through her mouth to his neck cord, imitating what he'd done to her earlier. At the same time, her holoform draped silky filaments of chestnut hair across his aft. "Unh, M-Mercedes…"

She grabbed each of his hands in one of her own, one bot, one holoform, and held them still. He was momentarily at her mercy until he realized two could play at this game.

He reveled in the heady sensation of this creature pleasuring him in ways he'd never thought imaginable. Her holoform fingers danced up his spinal shaft under his back plates and he almost couldn't hold on to the holoform file.

With a grunt he forced his holoform to spark right behind her bot-form. He felt strange, like he had two of himself and saw from two places. He'd never attempted to split his consciousness between the two forms at the same time. It was intoxicating.

His holoform's skin was extremely sensitive. Much more so than his protoform metal, even folded. The night air caressed his skin as he slid human-like fingers over Mercedes' doors, folded down her back like a butterfly. The metal on her doors was cool, the paint slick as the glass. He reached between the 'wings' and around her waist, dancing his fingers up her circuitry hidden underneath the armor. She cried out in the dual sensation of him kissing her on the back of her neck at the same time he met their vocal processors in an electric arc. Her holoform ran her tongue down the plating over his spinal shaft and slipped her hands over a tire on each hip, lazily spinning the separated and coiled rubber.

He reacted by reaching with his bot-fingers to grip her metal obliques and squeeze her chest ever so slightly, running his thumbs over the headlights gracing her front. His holoform bit into her neck and he felt his own hands brush skin to metal against each other as they ran across her chest plating.

The sensations between their four forms were building up a static charge that sparked the air and danced between them all.

He urgently wanted to feel her holoform like he did last night. The pressures building in him were both Autobot and human in response.

His holoform pulled hers away a bit and he drew a heavy intake when their lips met. So soft and wet. So diametrically opposite to what he held in his arms a few feet away. He wondered how long they could keep both forms in their respective unions. They had never bothered with clothes on their holoforms and the skin to skin was like lightning in his wires. His spark casing shifted open at the same time his holoform lowered hers to the grass. Her bot-form pulled him down as well and they lay side by side, facing each other as their holoforms caressed and fondled to distraction behind her.

"Kiss my neck again."

"Gladly."

Both his forms reached to nuzzle both her necks. The holoforms felt warmth and pulsing fire. As bots, they felt current sizzle and bite. The combination almost offlined him. So different, yet similar.

He lowered his mouths to her chest. As a bot, he nipped around her spark casing with his lip plates, sending tiny arcs of current into her spark. His holoform licked his way down the soft mound of her breast and enclosed his lips over her tight nipple, suckling then lifting back to her mouth. He pulled her close, running his hand across her rear, pressing his erection into her belly. Both of her cried out in ecstasy.

He slid his bot-fingers over her hip joints and circled the hinge pin, teasing the tiny sensor just beneath.

"Ha—hanh…Optimus…"

Her most precious circuitry lied beneath her pubic plate, so he assumed that was where it lay in her holoform. Both of him leaned down to explore that theory. He felt soft, springy hair give way to the folds that welcomed him last night. She sent him imagery of what she wanted. The imagery alone almost sent him back over the edge, but he swallowed his eagerness down a bit and happily obliged her request with a searching lick to her core.

"Yeeeaaaaaahhhhhhh…." He glanced at her holoform. She didn't sound like she was breathing normally, but it was inline with her reactions last night. Her fingers delved into his hair again and he groaned into her wetness. She both shivered. He let his holoform administer the laving she so desperately craved and bent to do something similar on her bot-form. Only with electricity.

Her pubic armor clicked open with a firm press of his fingers and slid aside. All her most deliciously sensitive circuitry was hidden here. He delved a finger into the housing and stroked a lovely red wire.

"Aiaaa!" She writhed beneath him. "Good God, do that again!"

He smiled and complied, only this time with a thick black wire that he followed down to the soldering and sent a tiny shock into the connection.

She almost bucked him off in both forms, for at that exact same moment, his holoform discovered the tiniest, most alive little nubbin hidden in her feminine folds.

"Sta—stop. Optimus…you too…pl-ease…"

Both mounted both and as one drove home with new found precision, the other leaned in for an electrical kiss. Their sparks leapt forward to join.

Pounding, melting, racing, reaching…he felt her holoform claw her nails down his back in excitement. The sensations of so much grew and grew, but he had to hold on. He had to orgasm before he overloaded. He had to show her how much…how much…

He loved her.

"Gah!"

Four screams of rapture echoed into the night and as the four became two, the two became one.


	17. Chapter 17: Camping!

"What the—oh, oops! Back up, everyone, it's okay. Nothing to see here." Optimus looked up from his very attentive mate to see his Second herding the others back towards the camp.

Maggie was a bit more persistent than the others. "I don't understand, we heard more than just the two of them…oh—OH."

He groaned and dropped his forehead to Mercedes'. She giggled quietly and whispered, "I think we were a little too loud."

"So much for savoring the moment."

She laughed a bit louder at his sarcasm. "Can't we just ignore them?"

Much to his dismay, they could not. Other than Regulus, who seemed to have stayed back at the campsite, everyone had come to see what caused such a ruckus. Ah, well, nothing for it. "Come on, I'll help you up."

"Oh, ow!"

"Hurting your mate, Prime? I thought you new how to handle your metal."

"Well, Ironhide, we can probably do it again so you can see how it's done." The entire group stared dumbfounded at Optimus' quip. Then they started spurting laughter.

Mikaela ducked under Ironhide's arm and stepped a few feet in their direction. "Can't you two be alone without scromping each other silly?"

"Excuse me?" He couldn't decipher if she was joking or serious.

Ratchet looked rather confused. Somehow that felt satisfying to see someone else confused at what the human said. "I can't find that word in any dictionary on the web, formal or vernacular."

Optimus looked to Sam. "Beats me." Why didn't he believe him? Probably the smirk he was trying very hard to hide.

Ratchet completely missed the human's meaning. "I don't think there was anything violent going on, they were simply interfacing."

"No, Ratch, I was telling Optimus I had no clue what Mikaela meant by 'scromping'."

Mikaela dropped her hands to her hips and huffed in an irritated manner. "Screwing? Sleeping together? Knockin' boots?" She tossed a glance back over to him and Mercedes. "Or in this case, bonnets."

Mercedes jumped into the conversation. "I think I understand her, but she lost me at the bonnet part."

Ratchet latched on like an eager school-bot. "Now, that I did find. It means the hood of a car. Either that or a female headdress."

"Oh, Primus, I'm gonna need a good recharge to get that visual out of my head. Yuck."

"What's the matter, Ironhide? Can't handle us being grown-ups?" Well, at least Mercedes had lightened up, as the humans call it.

Maggie shook her head. "Mikaela, you definitely have a creative vocabulary."

"What. We can't leave them alone! They're worse than me and Sam right after Mission City."

"Hey! Don't get me in the middle of this…whatever it is…"

"Oh, crap! What if there's another bot-baby?"

"Mikaela!"

She looked at Mercedes. "Well?"

"No."

"No, what?"

"That was a unique thing that happened and what we did…just now…wasn't—er—quite the same as what happened for Regulus."

"Huh? How else do bots make babies?"

Mercedes looked from Optimus to Ratchet and back again. "I don't really…"

Well, it fell to Optimus to explain, no thanks to Ratchet. "Regulus was a special occurrence. He was a secondary result of joining the Prophetess with the Spark-Shard. Regular mating does not create botlings, as with humans. We have to create them from the All-Spark."

Mercedes whipped her head back to Optimus again. "Wh-a-at? But that means that—"

"You are capable of creating, Mercedes, but I don't think you will do so without intent, anymore. And it won't…" He grinned, "always…involve sparking."

Trust Bumblebee to show his diplomatic side and change the subject. "Well, now that we've ruined the evening for them at least, can we get back to the campsite and that ghost story Sam was sharing with the rest of us? It was just getting interesting. Although I still can't understand how something non-corporeal can affect the corporeal."

"We don't have to get into that again. The story was pretty much over anyway." Optimus would never have known that Ironhide muttered that sentence if he hadn't been walking right next to him. He sounded so...wary.

Sam exacerbated this oddity with, "That's okay. I can tell you guys about demons this time. They're much creepier."

"How so?"

"Well, they can be in a body, or not. And they can manipulate anything around them. They're totally Evil and the only way you can fight them is with Good."

"Hmph, sounds like a Decepticon. Been there, heard that."

"You just don't want to get all scared again."

Oh, brother! Optimus almost couldn't contain the chuckle trying to escape his vocal processor when Ironhide sputtered out, "Scared! Me? I've held my ground against the biggest Decepticons and never flinched. I do _not_ scare!"

"Sure. And you didn't scream like a little girl when that bat flew by."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. So you can stop." He finished by pointing at Sam in warning.

Mercedes voiced that which Optimus couldn't bring himself to. He'd not be able to ask without laughing. "Wait, Ironhide…screamed?"

Sam grinned up at her. "Like a ten year old girl with a spider in her mouth!"

"I did not scream! I alerted! The small creature was flitting by so fast I couldn't see it."

Ratchet actually defended Ironhide. Now that was strange. Usually he was the one of the first to pick at Ironhide. "Not to mention the havoc its sonar wreaked on our audio receivers. My sensors still smart from that." He made a very human gesture to rub said sensors.

Ironhide was definitely on the defensive. What kind of story had they been sharing? "I thought it might have been something the lab humans created to affect my optics. I was _on alert_! Not scared!"

Bumblebee splurted a laugh. "Well, my recording of the incident says otherwise."

"You wouldn't dare. Come here you little glitch."

Optimus watched two of his battle-hardened soldiers run around a campfire like human children. He kept his composure until they almost knocked Regulus over, Bumblebee using him as a hinge point for evasion. "not the paint, NOT THE PAINT! OUCH! Hide, you owe me for that one! Do you have any idea how hard it's gonna be to have these flames repainted?"

Ironhide scoffed. "You just rescan it, botling."

"We're five hundred miles away from the truck I scanned, Old Timer." They apparently had hit it off well in Regulus' training so far. Ironhide would never take that tone from a stranger. He settled with Mercedes between two logs on the ground, facing the fire. Ratchet was discussing something with the humans.

"I still don't understand why you shove these small, sugar-cylinders on a stick, then melt them over the fire. It looks revolting."

Mikaela was quick to defend. "No different than watching you guys ingest rocks."

"I don't agree. Rocks, as you put it, are minerals that we need for our bodies to create the energon that keeps us powered. Those marsh mallows have no nutritional value to begin with, and they look incredibly…messy."

Optimus chuckled and leaned in to Mercedes, "He's always been rather fastidious with his frame."

"Aw." She brought a hand up to hide a smile and they both turned back to watch the interchange.

"Well, would it hurt you to try one before you go all judgmental on us?"

"I cannot ingest food as you can."

"What about in your holoform? Don't you have the same innards as we do?"

"I--?" He looked to the others for help. Ironhide, Regulus and Bumblebee had stopped bickering and caught Ratchet's predicament. Ironhide was ready to pick on someone else, now.

"You're on your own on that one, Ratch."

Ratchet mumbled something under his breath and then looked at Ironhide. "Screamer."

Hide leaned down to hear Bee mention something. He smirked. "Chicken."

Ratchet looked confused. Optimus didn't blame him. "I'm not going to eat one of those, either!"

Maggie couldn't contain her laughter, but tried to explain. "He means you're scared like a chicken. They scare easily."

Mercedes leaned in to Optimus' audio. "This is better than television." Optimus didn't have time to ask her what she meant before he heard his medical officer retaliate to Ironhide.

"Scared? You should talk, bat-bot." The humans exchanged a look and Maggie mouthed '_bat-bot?_' in confused humor.

Ironhide planted his hands on his hips. "Prove I'm wrong. Eat something."

Ratchet shook his head. "I will not dignify this with a response."

"Bock, bock bock bock…" Was that…Bumblebee? Apparently, for then Sam and Mikaela joined in the weird noise repetition.

"What…?" Ratchet looked as confused as Optimus felt.

Mercedes explained with laughter warbling in her voice. "They're imitating chicken noises."

The bright green mech looked even more confused. "For what purpose?"

"To call you a chicken, again. Personally, I wouldn't stand for it. Chicken."

Oh, now he really couldn't let his mate make fun of his medical officer…could he? "Mercedes!"

Optimus had to admit, it wouldn't be so fun to pick on him if it wasn't so rare that he got his dander up.

With a growl of frustration, Ratchet transformed into auto-mode and popped an auburn haired male into existence about two feet from the humans. He strode up to Mikaela, snatched the stick from her hands, shoved a marshmallow onto the end of it, then jabbed it over the fire.

He stood there, awkwardly holding the alder branch. "How in Cybertron is this supposed to make me look brave?"

Mikaela laughed. "It's not. You've got to eat it to do that."

He eyed the offending white blob charring over the fire. "This can't be good for my system."

"Probably not, but it tastes good." She prepared the chocolate bar and graham cracker.

"Oh, crap, Ratchet, look out!" Sam alerted him to the now burning white blob.

"Gah!" Ratchet flung the flaming marshmallow off the stick over his back. They all heard a sick, thunking sound of it hitting metal.

He turned with a cringe. "Uh…"

"Oh, that's just—Scrap it, Ratchet!" Marshmallow slid in gooey, flaming dribbles down Ironhide's chestplates.

Everyone rolled in laughter. Ratchet shoved the stick back at Mikaela and blinked out. He drove the Hummer a few feet away and transformed, but not before Optimus heard him spurt laughter as well.

Mikaela recovered her voice first. "Oh, that's gonna be a pain to get off. And it'll stink if you leave it."

Maggie looked around. "We have nothing to clean it with."

Ironhide grabbed a branch off a pine tree and tried to swipe at the mess on his chest plates. Mikaela looked startled. "No! Hide, no not with pine! The sap will make it worse!"

"RATCHET! YOU OWE ME A WASH FOR THIS!"


	18. Chapter 18: Cadence

He watched the firelight glint off her silver face as she looked around the camp. Light and shadow danced over each seam and crevice that made up the mechanic perfection. Optimus grinned and shook his head. He was besotted, like a lovesick fool.

Movement caught in the corner of his eye. Ah, just Ironhide and Regulus. He narrowed his apertures. Mercedes didn't have any training at all. He was ashamed at giving her almost no instruction on protecting herself in her Autobot form. He couldn't allow her to be involved in this mission.

"Mercedes…"

She smiled and eagerly looked into his optics. "Yes?"

Such open happiness. It almost took his breath away. It occurred to him just how little affection she had in life and how their newfound relationship would affect her. It made it all the harder to deny her…

How could he broach the subject peacefully? There just wasn't an easy way. Unless he could give her something else to do… "I'd like for you to look after the humans in the morning. You can relate to them and should something happen, you can get away with them."

"…I see…"

Disappointment? He didn't think she'd want to face her father after what he'd seen of him. Or was that disappointment in Optimus, himself?

"I just think that it would be—"

She held up a hand. "I know what you're thinking."

"Do you?" He watched her warily.

"You want to protect me from a possible confrontation with my father, as well as keep me out of harm's way should a situation arise tomorrow."

Primus! He almost panicked every time she made a logic jump with the Intuition. He still wasn't used to it.

She reached up with her hand to cup his cheek plates. "But you forget, dearest, that I'm the only one who has had experience with these people. I'm the perfect distraction. They won't even know it's me, anyway."

"You are the only one with experience with these people, but you're the only Autobot without experience in battle—"

"Regulus—"

"Has synched with myself, Bumblebee, and Ironhide. He can draw on experiences as well, which makes him more than just trained."

"No. Where he goes—where _you_ go—I will go."

"Mercedes—"

"Not another word, Optimus. I need to do it, and you need someone knowledgeable enough to make a good distraction."

Her choice of words worried him. "What do you mean you _need_ to do it?"

"I…need to see him." She couldn't maintain optic-contact. She became suddenly engrossed in her hands.

"Why, Mercedes? He left you alone when you needed him the most."

That got her attention. She scoffed. "On more than one occasion." He raised an optic ridge. She clasped her hands in front of her and leaned in to him. "But I still need it. If he's not there, then I won't pursue it, but this is my only chance in over a year to get one final look at him." She glanced around the camp. She started to say something, stopped, then, "What if we leave?"

"What?" There was no if in his mind. If he left, she would be with him.

Her apertures flew back to his face. "What if we leave and it's the last chance I have to see him?"

Optimus doubted her father would miss her at this point. "He hasn't bothered to contact you in a year. He left you in restraints locked up in a place for unstable people."

She laughed bitterly, softly. She shook her head. "You don't understand. That's the only way he would know to control it."

"Control what?"

She shook her head.

She didn't think he'd understand? "Explain it, then."

She stood up and walked aside, away from the fire and the others. When he didn't follow, she looked back and motioned for him to do so. He did so.

"My father's whole life has been nothing but research. My mother was the only one who was able to penetrate that and that was because her father was a renowned researcher. His whole life, my father has dedicated himself to science. Ever since he graduated from university, he's focused on nothing but creating AI."

"Artificial Intelligence? This is not uncommon from what I've seen."

"No, but no one else has come as close as he has."

"How so?"

"The parts inside me…well, the parts that were part of me when I was human…they were from his most successful experiment. Bionic prosthetics that could heal themselves. Something about the nanotechnology he injected into them."

His spark flared. "Really. Did he say what this was based from?"

"Pardon?"

This could be the connection. "Do you have any reason to believe that he might have been working off the same reverse engineering that the military used to simulate radiation from the All-Spark?"

"You mean that might be how I came to have the Prophetess inside me?"

"Yes." That was the answer, he could feel it.

"I admit I had wondered about that." She looked into the dark. "It makes sense. And in an odd way, then, it's my father's doing that has brought me here."

That brought Optimus up short with another possibility. Her father might not be as heartless as she portrayed him. "He saved you, then."

"From the accident? No, not really. I would have healed over time. I'd never have been able to walk again, and even with the bionic pelvis, I would never have been able to bear children." She paused and looked over at Regulus, still speaking with Ironhide. "No. What he did was provide a human test subject without having to get FDA approval."

"I don't understand."

"Before American researchers can test such things on humans, they have to go through years and mountains of paperwork and proof that it's safe." She looked back at Optimus. "He just didn't want to wait and saw an opportunity. Since I was in college under his 'household' then he could make that decision for me. His colleagues performed the surgery immediately and left me to recover."

"But in order for that to work, they would have to monitor you, minutely." He was no scientist, but this much was obvious.

She laughed again. The bitter sound made his spark ache. "Oh, they watched me. For three months, they watched me."

He watched for her to proceed.

"As soon as I was allowed out of that awful hospital, I ran. I slipped under the radar and ran away. I even changed my name. That wasn't easy, but college is full of people to help you with things like that."

"Is Mercedes not your name?"

"Ha. No. My given name was Theresa. Theresa May Baker. Now it's Mercedes Prima." She looked at him slyly.

"Prima?"

"Mmhmmm."

"Like Prime?"

She laughed. "Yep."

"How did you know?"

"I didn't think too hard about it. It just seemed to fit. That's why I freaked out a little when we were introduced." She looked a bit shy. "And I guess I should apologize for being so forward the other day. I was really looking forward to getting to know you and didn't think your stuffiness would open up with more stuffiness." She blinked sheepishly up at him. Which was amazing with her plated face.

He laughed. "Hmm. I guess you were right. And you do not owe me any apologies…_Mercedes_." He flared his optics when he deliberately used her chosen name. She was more his than he'd realized. What else had they not shared in the synching?

Like Ironhide said, too busy sparking. He smiled.

He thought of something. "How did they release you from the hospital after only three months?"

She grinned. "Let's just say there was a very obliging head doctor who had a weakness for brunettes."

"You didn't—"

She laughed. "No, but flirtation will get you anywhere when they think you have sway with your very successful researcher father. The fact that my own father overlooked something he did himself speaks of his arrogance."

She took on that bitter look again. He needed to redirect her. "So the doctor helped you escape? How did you convince him to do that?"

She bit the bait. "I didn't have to. They couldn't hold me in the psych ward as long as I exhibited no signs of mental illness. When they transferred me to surgical recovery, I just walked out."

"Just like that?"

"Yes."

Such bravado. Or was it simply a need to get away? "Where did you go?"

"Well, I didn't have anywhere to go. I cleaned out my bank account, which had been generously padded by my father's guilty conscience, and just…went." She shrugged. "But enough about me. What about you?"

"What about me?" He didn't like this new direction. It was much safer to talk about her.

Her hands flew out in a little arc of questions. "Well, what's it like to be leader?"

"Oh." He hadn't expected that question. "Well, I…I'm not sure how to answer that."

"I saw how it happened. I felt what you did when Megatron tried to make you step down. He was pretty ticked off on the Day of Selection, but then he became your First Lieutenant. No…wait…Lord High Protector? And then that horrible slaughter and splitting the Prophetess from the All-Spark…I don't understand."

He paused, careful not to leap into something that didn't need explanation. Old habits died very hard and he did not like to talk about those early days of his leadership. "What part needs explanation?"

"What made you stay on as leader? What have you been doing for the past few thousand years that Megatron's been on Earth?"

He sighed. This would be a tall order to fill. He looked up at the sky. The stars were fading into dawn again. Soon it would be time to roll into action. He needed to solidify his plans with the others. She was right. They did need her to be the distraction inside. He didn't like it, but he couldn't risk one of the humans. Bumblebee would take them to a hotel a few miles west when it became light.

"Optimus…" She placed a hand on his arm.

He didn't look down. "We talked yesterday of Omega Six."

He felt her wait for him to continue.

"He's still in the background, but for some reason, won't take full control. He manipulates the Decepticons through Starscream."

"Hmm. The others weren't too complimentary of this Starscream when I first hit camp."

He looked down at her. "They don't give him enough credit, and I admit to allowing it. He plays a very deep game and can be very intimidating once you realize just how intelligent and clever he is."

"So, you've been fighting Omega and Starscream in Megatron's stead? Why would they want Megatron back if they were able to do that?"

"Omega can't control Starscream like he can Megatron. I'm still not sure why. There's something there—"

"Optimus! Heads up! Foot Patrol!" Ironhide ran past them to deliver the message to the humans still asleep by the campfire.

He looked around, grabbing Mercedes' hand without thinking. "Ratchet, Bumblebee, come with me. We need to hide."

"Yes, Sir."

He spoke to Ironhide, who was busy waking the humans. "Ironhide, Regulus, transform and show your holoforms. Act like they do, but remain alert." They replied in the affirmative. He heard a confused voice trailing behind him.

"What about me?"

He couldn't possibly think of a way to explain a Mercedes Kompressor at a campsite. Besides, she was holding his hand. Wasn't it obvious? "You come with me, Mercedes."

"Quick! They're coming!"

He was grateful for their folded size. It allowed them to hide much easier than in full size. Now they just had to hold their breath and wait for the foot patrol to pass. He silently thanked the Matrix for providing him with the foresight to watch for such an eventuality.

He watched them approach the camp opposite the clearing from where they hid. There looked to be three, no four men, spread out in a staggered sweep. Professionals wouldn't miss the multiple tracks they'd left behind. They needed a distraction, but what?

He thought of something quite distracting.

"Mercedes, transform over by that rock and have your holoform ready."


	19. Chapter 19: Distraction

"What? Why?"

"Just do it. Please. I'll join you shortly." He watched her set up by the large rock outcropping. Which was strange to see, because in his natural size, that rock would be just the right size to sit upon.

Ironhide broke into his thoughts. _/Optimus, they're entering the camp/_

_/Keep them from looking too closely to the ground. Our tracks will be difficult to explain/_

Regulus was the one to respond. _/Don't worry about that. We've got mud all over us from training earlier. I'll just tell them we were stuck/_

_/Good idea, Regulus. Let me know what their response is/_

He watched the campsite, just out of range of the humans' visibility in the tree line. The patrol lifted something from their faces and one of them walked up to speak with Ironhide. There was gesturing and pointing and a bit of laughter. It never ceased to amaze him that Ironhide could actually exhibit social aptitude, given his generally gruff nature. He reported as soon as they started walking away. _/They fell for it. I don't think they're too keen on being out here. They're heading straight at you/_

_/Alright. You and Regulus load up the humans and take them to the hotel we spotted up the road. We can't risk involving them any further in this/_

Sam and Mikaela looked eager at the idea of a hotel. He smiled. He saw Ironhide's holoform have a rather heated discussion with Maggie.

_/Maggie objects. She thinks she can help/_

_/She can't stay alone and Sam and Mikaela are too young to join. She has to go with them for the time being. If we need her, we can contact her/_

_/Yes, Sir/_

Then the strangest thing happened. Optimus shook his head. It wasn't really strange, just surprising. He reasoned with himself. Not surprising, either, when he put a fine point on it. Ironhide sweeping Maggie up in his arms and kissing her so hard she bent backwards wasn't that much of a surprise. But it worked. Maggie climbed up into the Topkick without question after that.

Okay.

Bumblebee interrupted his thoughts with amazement. _/I see the patrol. This is strange. The forest looks completely different from this vantage point/_

He needed his medical officer's impartial observation. _/Report, Ratchet. What do you see?/_

_/Sir. They're dressed in dark clothing and while I believe they are attempting at silence, I can somehow hear their every movement. It's easier to see them from this height. There are four males and they have some kind of face mask on. It seems that they have night vision. One of them smells like he's itching for battle. The others seem to be seasoned and a bit tired/_

_/Stay hidden and report back if you see anything else. I'm going to distract them away from you/_

_/Be careful, Sir. The ground responds differently when we're this small. I almost sank into the ground a few paces back and Bumblebee nearly tripped over a few little tree roots/_

_/Thank you, Ratchet/ _He gave a fleeting thought to his earlier misgivings. Now was not the time and he'd never had reason to doubt him since he became an Autobot.

_/Optimus?/_

_/I'm coming, Mercedes/_

He carefully snuck around a large pine, skulking under bushes that he could have trampled in his normal size, towards her silver Kompressor. He nestled between rocks and a tree growing out from underneath it. It was just big enough and bushy enough to hide him from their sight.

He concentrated. _/Don't make any noise. I'm going to generate my holoform into the car/_

_/Gotcha/_

He blinked right into the passenger seat with nothing but a pair of shorts on and looked over at her, eyeing her clothing. "Can you generate some clothing that might be appropriate for…oh what do humans call it...making it?"

"Making out?"

"Er…yes."

She smiled. "I like your distractions." She blinked out and re-appeared straddling him, wearing a short skirt and a white—wasn't it called a bra? He couldn't help but reach forward to cup it and the soft mounds they held captive. Why would such a nice covering be named something so terse and undescriptive? He couldn't think of a better word, but surely there was something…She wiggled against his crotch and leaned in. All of her hair cascaded around them like the finest bronze filament. They were encapsulated in their own little world.

_/Primus, who are you trying to distract, them or us?/_

Apparently not. _/Shut up, Bumblebee/_

_/Shutting up, Sir/_

He rested his hands on Mercedes' hips and lightly dug his thumb into her joint in what he knew was a tickle. She squealed and laughed, then dove in for a kiss. He closed his eyes and concentrated on looking through his optics at the approaching foot patrol.

They'd taken the bait and started walking towards the car, flanking it from both sides. As they walked closer, he could see they were all dressed in what looked like textured armor, with helmets and odd faceplates. That must be what Ratchet meant by night vision.

That was probably the only thing that could keep Bumblebee and Ratchet hidden, since they were so bright. _/Stay near the rocks. They'll be less likely to see your light colors if you stay near the rocks/_

_/Understood/_

He focused back on Mercedes, who had been doing a very good job of distracting him. Her hands slid over his chest, teasing his nipples and raking her fingernails over his abdomen. He responded by wrapping his hands around her bottom, under her skirt, feathering his fingers against her wet center.

Just the feel of her excitement on his hands and he nearly deleted his shorts to plunge upwards into her. It was almost…fun…having an audience.

_/They've surrounded Mercedes. They're watching/_

If only Ratchet wouldn't give him a play-by-play…_/As was my intention…/_

_/There's something wrong with you, Prime/_

He chuckled across the frequency. _/Not at the moment/_

He went ahead and deleted his shorts. Her skirt was just long enough to cover it up. Gripping her bottom gently, he guided her up and onto his erection. He watched her face as she slid down. She bit her lip, but maintained eye contact.

He felt every millimeter.

When she was seated, he rocked up to give that last little bit and she gasped, throwing her head and all her glorious hair back.

To hit the windshield.

"Ow!" She giggled.

"Are you alright?" He reached up to cradle her head in his palm, instinctively soothing.

She laughed. "Yeah, I'm fine." She readjusted her seat. He groaned. "More than fine." He pistoned up into her. "Oh, yeah. That feels a lot better."

_/They're leaving, you can stop now/_

_/Go find something to do, Ratchet/_

_/Yes, Sir/_

She raised up a few inches and slid back down, groaning when he rocked up to meet her. She leveled an impish gaze on him and reached towards the seat.

"Whoa…" She dropped the seat back to recline.

She leaned over him like a predator over dinner. "Now…Where were we?"

He smiled and clasped her hips, bringing her down to meet his. "Right…" He pulled her up and then back down, hard. "Here."

She panted. "Oh. Yeah. I'd…unh…forgotten." He slipped a hand up to free a breast from its lacy prison and toy with the taut peak.

"Then let me remind you." He arched forward to take her nipple into his mouth and suckle it.

"Ah! Duly noted!"

He chuckled as she dug her fingernails into his scalp and rode him. Soon, the effort of control overtook him and he dropped back to enjoy the ride. He tried to watch her lose the battle, but his own eyes betrayed him and shut down.

Luckily he had an extra set.

He watched Mercedes arc and dip over him. The sensation of feeling in one place and seeing in another was oddly intoxicating, as if he were his own voyeur. His Autobot form reached his hand to linger at his spark casing, then slid the tactile fingers under his chest plates to the array of wiring hidden beneath.

_/What are you doing?/_

Sweet Sentience! He'd forgotten she could still see him! The shock of being pretty much caught "in the act" charged his spark. Her jovial tone told him she had guessed the answer to her question correctly.

_/I can't help it. I can see us/_

He heard her engine softly purr in response. He looked from the car to the two of them peaking inside. He tweaked a wire right next to the spark casing. His holoform felt her orgasm squeezing through her as she cried out. He raced to meet her completion in both forms as quietly as he could.

Right as he felt his release into her holoform, he delved his finger into his spark casing and sent a tiny jolt, just enough to trigger an overload.

He hadn't needed much. It was all he could do to keep his holoform in the car beneath her, holding her soft form against him like it was the most precious thing he would ever have.

The next sense to register was his hearing. Birds chirped above him in the tree that gave him rest as he recovered. Morning sunlight filtered through the pine needles.

Ironhide's voice was not the first he wished to hear. _/I'm sorry, Optimus, but we can't wait any longer. The time is getting close and we have to finalize our plan/_

_/Thank you, Ironhide. We'll be at the camp shortly/_

He stepped down from his hiding place between the tree and the rock, careful not to slip on the deadfall.

"Easy, Trigger, it's a bit dry there."

He scanned around for Mercedes and found her leaning against the outcropping to his side. "Trigger?"

"It's a horse on a TV show."

"Well, I know we had quite the ride a little while ago, but I wouldn't claim to be a horse."

Her lips quirked. "Hmm. Most human men wouldn't say that. Especially if they were like you and had the right of it."

"Pardon me?"

She laughed and stepped away from the outcropping. "Nothing, dearest. You ready?"

He scanned the area and settled his gaze on the mountain ahead of them. This was it.

"As ready as I'll ever be."


	20. Chapter 20: Sticks and Stones

"What in the name of Unicron are you three doing?" Optimus and Mercedes re-entered the camp to find that Ironhide had not only returned from the hotel, but had also engaged in some sort of stick-sparring with Ratchet and Bumblebee.

Ratchet paused mid-swing and leveled a look at Optimus. "You told us to go find something to do." He resumed the fight and swung hard at Ironhide, who blocked a blow from Bumblebee.

_Whack. Whack, thunk, whack-whack. Thop._

Birds flew out of the nearest tree, screeching their distress.

Ah. Yes, well, so he did. He listened to make sure they were using a sound dampener. They had. What should have been a continuous echo in this particular environment was neatly concealed with a conflicting frequency. Well, at least they had done something constructive.

"Watch it Bumblebee, he's on the warpath." Ironhide circled Ratchet. Apparently, the match was more two against one than the three for themselves. That was interesting. How on Cybertron did they convince Ratchet to play with those odds?

Bumblebee flared his antennae, stepped to the side and came around. "I'll watch my stick and you watch your own."

"I'm just tellin' ya."

Optimus heard Mercedes stifle a giggle beside him.

"I don't need advice." Bumblebee hated any reminder that he was the least experienced, and Ironhide giving him advice in a simple spar would do just that.

"Fine." Ironhide changed the game to three for themselves and back-handed a swing at the scout. Which was effectively blocked.

Optimus grinned. Of course it was. He had taught Bumblebee, himself.

_Whack. Whick-whack._

Oh, that had to hurt. He almost laughed. Bumblebee had deflected the blow and used the ricochet to smack Ironhide in the aft as he pushed him forward. Ratchet, on the other hand, did laugh.

Ironhide recovered with a growl and looked ready to toss aside the sticks for guns. Ratchet pushed an advance before he could act on it.

_Whack! Whak-whick-whick-whick. Thop! Thump._

Mercedes looked up at him with a wary and slightly amused expression. "Are they having fun or is this something I should worry about?"

He returned a puzzled and equally amused expression to her, then they both turned back to watch the three mechs swing whittled branches at each other. It looked like the files on stick-fighting he reviewed when researching human defense methods during their initial descent.

They were Autobots, what did they need with sticks?

_Whack. Whik-Whack. Whack. TING! Thunk, Whack. Crack! _

On the other hand, it _did_ look like fun.

Ironhide looked at his dangling and broken stick. He grunted in frustration. "Slag you, Ratch! That's the third one you've broken. What did you _watch_ last night?" He reached up and wrenched a branch down. Optimus glanced at Mercedes. They really shouldn't be abusing the trees so much. She was too absorbed in the spar to take notice, though. He turned his optics to Ratchet, interested in his response to Ironhide's query.

Ratchet chuckled. Optimus detected more than a healthy dose of glee in Ratchet's expression. "Well, unlike the _rest_ of you, I downloaded educational programming. Human surgical methods." The brightness of his optics and depth of his voice suggested he had fully enjoyed the program. It almost reminded Optimus of something…

Ironhide was obviously not satisfied with that answer. "No. You had to have watched something more like the Westerns the runt and I downloaded. You never show this kind of battle lust."

Westerns? That must have been after the humans settled down to sleep. And he noticed Ironhide said the one thing guaranteed to set Bumblebee off. The scout also hated any reminder that he was the smallest.

There went the antennae. "I am not a runt!" And there he went. Optimus covered his optics with his hand and groaned. Controlling his temper was one lesson Bee never really learned. Fortunately, he was so good-natured his temper didn't surface very often.

He peeked from behind his digits and looked between his Second and his Scout.

Ratchet redirected the conflict to join in. "Perhaps if I wasn't spending every battle fixing you, you might see me exhibit more than just irritation, Ironhide."

And of course any mention that Ironhide was less than perfect on the battlefield was sure to infuriate him. "What? You—" _Whack_!

It must have been, what, six million earth-years? And they still acted like juveniles, sometimes.

_Whick. Whackwhackwhack. Ting TING! Crack! _

It was Bumblebee's turn to glare at his broken branch. "Blast! How are you keeping the same branch but the two of us are on our fourth now?"

Ratchet swung his branch in a figure-eight with a grin. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Bumblebee shifted his weight onto one foot and glanced at Ironhide. "Actually, that's why I asked."

The medic's grin widened. "My apologies. That's for me to know and you to find out."

Mercedes leaned in to Optimus while Bumblebee gleaned another pine branch and whittled it. "Oh, my God, this is so childish. But so _funny_. And it probably doesn't help that Ratchet's got an oak branch. Pine is soft."

Optimus rolled his optics. Of course, Ratchet would be the only mech to actually research the properties of the local flora before engaging in anything involving it.

Then again, Ironhide was looking at Mercedes with a grin.

He knew. Oh, Primus, he knew that pine was softer…and full of, "Sap."

Optimus glanced over from Ratchet to Bumblebee. They were covered in little dark spots that told of dirt stuck on sap. It showed up very well on the bright colors the two mechs sported in their vehicle modes.

He slapped his hand back over his optics. Leave it to Ironhide to not only get sap on them, but to do it in such a way that he could use weaponry as well. He dropped his hand to look at him. His Second looked entirely too happy to be losing a fight.

Ironhide wasn't the only one to hear Mercedes' comment. Ratchet had also seen Ironhide's grin of satisfaction. He looked at the oak branch in his hand and then to the pine ones the others held. What was he looking around for? Whatever it was, he seemed to find it.

An Aspen branch? What difference would that make? And he wasn't whittling the leaves and twigs off.

_Fomp!_

Oh Unicron have mercy.

Ironhide sputtered and blinked around a face full of aspen leaves.

Ratchet and Bumblebee both laughed and pointed as Ironhide spit out leaf after leaf, cursing in Cybertronian.

"What did he say?"

Optimus could barely take his eyes off the spectacle. "I…don't think that I should translate." Did they come in that size?

"That bad?" She only sounded a little disappointed. Mostly confused. It was safer that way.

He shook his head, staring at the group as the two other mechs started laughing so hard they couldn't stand up straight. He admitted it was difficult to keep a straight face. "Too difficult. You have no words. None. Trust me."

She blinked and stared. If she knew…

And besides, he didn't think that explaining what Ironhide was threatening to do to Ratchet would accomplish much. It wasn't that funny unless you understood the context.

As it was, Optimus thought it was quite inventive. Who else but Ironhide would think to shove that up there? It would take a lot of patience, at least.

He thought about that for a moment. Didn't Ironhide call him back to the camp because they were running out of time?

Fun was fine, but time really was short. And he needed to call 'time' before Ironhide ran out of Cybertronian invectives and started on something Mercedes could understand. "Autobots, front and center!"

Good to know they still listened.

"Bumblebee, put the stick down."

The yellow mech glanced to the others and saw they had already dropped theirs. "Aye, Captain." He chucked the branch over his shoulder.

"None of that, now." Primus knew they didn't need any more distractions this morning. Even if they seemed to be Optimus' own fault.

"Yes, Sir."

"Alright. Now." He glanced around the clearing. "Where's Regulus?"

Ironhide answered. "He stayed with the humans in case they needed to evac."

"We need him on this. I agree one of us needs to stay with the humans, but he and Mercedes are the only ones who can generate holoforms the needed distance and I will not send Mercedes inside alone."

Thankfully, her face was neutral. But, then again, so were the others'. The last thing he needed was more fuel on his guilty conscience. He still couldn't believe he was using Mercedes in this, but it seemed he had no choice.

Bumblebee was the first with a suggestion. "Ratchet should go. He'd be the hardest to explain loaded on a flatbed."

Mercedes looked perplexed. "He could drive up."

"That would be even harder to explain. When I scouted out the place, there wasn't much traffic in or out. And I imagine they satisfy their own medical needs inside the facility."

Ironhide was surprisingly against the idea. "But we might need him for Jazz—"

That reminder had them all dimming their optics. Ah. All this distraction served more than a few purposes.

Ratchet responded. "They're right, Ironhide. It seems careless to have all of us up there. I don't mind standing guard and it might be a good idea if someone stays on the outside."

It seemed the decision was made. Optimus looked to his medic. "If you'll send Regulus back with haste when you get there."

He nodded. "Will do, Sir." He walked off a few paces towards the nearby road.

"And Ratchet?" Optimus need to say one thing to him. To make sure he knew this was just as important.

The medic turned away from folding up and watched Optimus expectantly. It was interesting to see him from a folded viewpoint. He wondered how much more intimidating his own height was from here. He saved that for another time.

Ratchet looked eager to be going. That in itself was odd, for Ratchet loved to be in the heat of conflict. Nonetheless,

"Thank you."

He nodded, transformed and took off towards the hotel. Crimson lights blinked silently through the trees until he dropped below a crest in the road, away from the mountain.

Optimus knew each conflict was different, each requiring different levels of skill and tenacity to achieve the necessary outcome…but something pulled at the back of his mind. Every battle, save for a few with Megatron, he'd entered confident, assured of the outcome. Their ignorance of the opponent worried him.

Mercedes took his hand and brought his attention back to the remaining group.

_/You okay?/_

_/I'm fine, Mercedes, thank you/_

He looked at each of his comrades in turn.

Ironhides' fire and bravado had won them many a conflict. Bumblebee's forethought and reconnaissance had prepared them in ways that never failed to surprise the enemy.

But…Mercedes was an unknown in this mission. He stared long at her. He had no idea how she would react in a true conflict. That little petty verbal tussle in the parking lot yesterday morning did nothing but prove that she was unpredictable. Powerful, but unpredictable. What if the Prophetess decided to appear while she was inside the compound?

Then again, she'd only shown herself at opportune moments. He looked for signs of stress or weakness in the beautifully mechanical Mercedes. He saw nothing to concern him. His optics continued on a path over her frame. She was pleasing as a human, but opened desires as a femme.

_/Sir?/ _Bumblebee's prompt saved him from another distraction.

Right. Snap out of it. She'll be fine. He was relieved to realize he trusted her judgement.

Back to the task at hand.

"Now. Bumblebee, what is the plan for entrance?"

Ironhide looked confused. "What do you mean? We can just slip in through the electrical conduit like Maggie said."

Optimus looked from Bumblebee to Ironhide. Didn't they go over his recon? "It's completely covered. Bumblebee thinks the rock was avalanched purposefully to conceal the weakness."

The black and silver mech turned to said scout. "Did you see anything else that could gain us entry?"

"Somewhat." He glanced at Optimus. "That's why I went back up while you and Regulus transported the humans. I needed a better understanding of their vehicular security."

That was Bumblebee's diplomatic way of mentioning how long they were waiting on Optimus and Mercedes. If he'd been human, he would have blushed. Just how long was he out this morning? It couldn't have been that long, from the passage of the sun.

Mercedes piped up. "I was wondering how we were going to get the flatbed in."

Bumblebee cleared his vocals and continued. "The plan so far is to have two of us in vehicle mode and one as an NBE import. That way, Optimus' holoform can claim to be in a hurry to deliver the extra vehicles and switch from the now-sabotaged unloading dock to the loading one."

That particular combination of logic and subtlety in strategy was Ratchet's trademark. But why was Ironhide out of the loop? It wasn't like him to not have an opinion on tactics. Perhaps Optimus and Mercedes weren't the only ones 'distracted' in the past few hours.

"What good will that do?" Her question reminded him that she wasn't used to their logic leaps. A few million years and you could leave out a few things in conversation.

Bumblebee explained. "Well, then we can load Megatron and Jazz onto the flatbed without too many questions. The workers will just think that the 'bodies' needed to go out instead of coming in."

It was Ironhide's turn to interrupt. "Alright…so, why do we need Mercedes and Regulus to go in? Why can't we just blast in, take the bodies, and blast out?" Optimus looked at Ironhide with a new perspective. Perhaps his time with Maggie had made him understand Optimus' reluctance to use Mercedes in this.

Bumblebee looked to Optimus to answer the question, though. With a falsely guileless expression, as well. He raised an optic ridge, knowing the scout better than that. Bumblebee wanted Ironhide to hear it from Optimus. Very well. "Like I said before, Mercedes and Regulus have the strongest holoforms. They need to infiltrate the interior and obtain Megatron's memory core."

Optimus wasn't certain, but Bumblebee's deferral might have had something to do with his feelings on Ironhide's 'runt' comment, earlier. But then again, it might be that Bumblebee was making sure Optimus was committed to using Mercedes and Regulus in this.

Mercedes' question cut through his thoughts. "How sure are we that we'll be able to communicate through this mountain?"

Something else unknown to worry about. This lack of preparation really didn't bode well for the mission. "We are not. We should have scouted that out, as well." Which he would have done if he hadn't let himself become so distracted lately. Then again, he wouldn't have had the time with Mercedes.

"We can transmit through a building clear as a bell. Although some may not want to respond." They all turned to see a very quickly returned Regulus walking towards them, folded to match the group. That hotel must be closer than he remembered. Either that or both Ratchet and Regulus broke speed limits getting to their destinations.

Regulus he could understand—he was young and caught up in earth-time. But why would Ratchet hurry? Unless he was simply being courteous of the time they had left.

Ironhide glared at the youngest mech. "The point was that the signal was received." This sounded like a continued conversation. So Ironhide didn't return a signal while he was inside the hotel? Why?

Regulus crossed his arms. "The point was to make sure the signal worked both ways."

"If it worked one way, it'll work the other."

Time to find out why. "Just what were you doing that you didn't fulfill the exercise, Ironhide?"

"Yes, Ironhide, what were you doing _all that time?_" Regulus sounded rather upset.

Optimus opened a private link to his Second. _/Ironhide, did you and Regulus have an argument about something?/_

Ironhide crossed his arms and answered out loud. "He's just bugged because he had to wait in the lobby with the check-in girl. For an entire fifteen minutes."

He looked to his son. Regulus answered privately. _/She wouldn't leave me alone. I called for Ironhide to hurry up and he ignored me/ _He sent Optimus images of a short, curvy woman with glasses and spiky black hair who looked at Regulus the same way Mercedes looked at Optimus sometimes. Hungry.

Regulus, however, hadn't understood. Optimus read his confusion and frustration in the images. The girl had basically propositioned him and he'd not known how to respond. He was completely unprepared for handling the opposite sex.

He sent a wave of sympathy to his son. Weren't they all.

"Ironhide, what took fifteen minutes—"

He responded indignantly. "It was more like half an hour—"

This was getting exasperating. "However long it took, why could you not respond to Regulus?"

He became defensive. "He didn't need my help with that. She looked his type."

His type? His son had a _type?_ Optimus took a step forward and growled a warning. "Ironhide."

The mech dropped his arms and stepped a half-step back. "Sir?"

"What. Were. You. Doing?" He enunciated every syllable to belay any confusion.

Ironhide finally understood that he was serious. "Sir. I—er—I mean…" He shifted on his feet. "…that's personal." He glared at Optimus.

Personal?

Oh. OH.

Scrap.

Well, then he couldn't blame him for being…distracted.

Thankfully Mercedes caught on—not that it was difficult at that point—and redirected the conversation. "Let's just focus on what we know and what we can expect to happen. We know they're going to perform the testing today, and that the timing is set for a few hours from now."

Bumblebee followed suit. "I think that the NBE import should be Ironhide. He's got the most capable sensors without sight. The one laid out will have to turn off their optics." Optimus was very glad personal feelings didn't effect his bots' decisions like they did humans and Decepticons. He trusted them to always do what was right. That trust relieved so many burdens…

Ironhide, "Agreed. So what else did you find while you were mountain-climbing, Runt?"

"Ah, well I did find a picture of your mother." But then sometimes, those personal feelings just ran rampant. Optimus rolled his optics. One moment, adult, another, juvenile.

"What?" Thank Primus Ironhide didn't recognize the common teasing insult. He just stared, confused.

"Yes, well, I also checked out the parking garage—"

Ironhide interrupted him. "How were you able to enter this place without being detected?" Optimus wanted to know that, as well, but sometimes Bumblebee's methods were better off left unquestioned. Ironhide didn't understand that. Or maybe he understood more than Optimus thought and was teasing back. One never could tell with these two.

Bumblebee propped his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest plates. "I'm a scout. It's my job."

Ironhide sneered. "Braggart."

Bumblebee rejoined. "Jealous."

"Runt."

Bumblebee's optics narrowed. "Tool."

Optimus heard the click and whirr of Ironhide's guns fold out. "Grrr."

He started to say something to de-escalate, when Mercedes beat him to it. "Alright, alright, shut up! Guys, bring your egos back down to earth. This is important. Bumblebee, what about the garage?" They both stopped mid-advance and stared dumbfounded at her.

Bumblebee recovered. "Ah. Yes. So. The garage is two level and underground. The entry is guarded and each vehicle is registered with the security gate both as a bar-code scan and a visual check. So when you and Regulus go in, one of you has to look like an employee and you have to be driving a registered car."

"How the hell are we going to do that?"

Bumblebee hesitated in his response, as if to give Optimus a last out. He appreciated the sentiment, but didn't he understand they needed her to do this? Optimus caught Regulus' strange look at Mercedes, then at him.

_/She doesn't have the logic of battle or experience to understand our methods, yet/_

Regulus looked slightly ashamed. _/Whereas I, at least, have had the advantage of synching with everyone here/_ But then he looked slightly angry. At Optimus.

He sighed, guilt weighing down on his conscience. _/I know. That's why I need you with her where I can't go/_ Mollified with that reply, Regulus paid attention to Bumblebee's patient response.

"Easy. I scanned their computers while they were…distracted."

Apparently Mercedes picked up on the signal that it was better not to question. "Do I want to know?"

"Not really…"

She blinked. "Okay, so what did you find?"

He continued. "Not much, but I did get a matching vehicle and barcode to Doctor Baker. I assumed you would know more about his appearance. I also scanned his license image so you could see if there were any changes."

She looked taken aback. "Wow. Okay." She blinked a bit and turned. "Um…hmm." She tapped a finger on her lips in a human gesture of thought. He adored it. "Optimus?"

"Yes?"

She paused for a moment before, "Should I go in before, after or with you?"

He thought about that for a moment. "I think you should go in at the same time so if there's any confusion, they direct it more at me."

She took a deep breath, then nodded. "Okay. That's good."

Ironhide broke the lull in the conversation. "We should get going then, we're burning daylight."

Regulus looked at the mech like he sprouted a new head. "What?"

Ironhide grinned and embellished. "Time's a wastin'."

Understanding dawned across the young mech's features. "Is that from one of the Westerns you guys watched last night?"

Bumblebee replied. "Yes, they are fascinating. One of the actors' voices even resembles Optimus' earth voice."

All four bots turn to look at Optimus. This time he really was embarrassed. As it was, his internal energon pressure rose high enough to increase his surface temperature in an Autobot version of a blush. So what if he'd taken his vocal pattern from John Wayne and modified it for current speech? What was wrong with that?

Nothing. Nothing at all. He cleared his vocals. "Giddyup."

He watched them all recover from their surprise, then fall into laughter.

Once they calmed down, each folded up. Save for Mercedes and Ironhide. She watched with amazement as Bumblebee and Regulus folded up in turn. Optimus waited until they had assumed vehicle modes before he folded up.

He looked down at her and Ironhide. He'd spent the better part of two days folded and found a new appreciation for this height. And a new sadness that Mercedes couldn't do the same. Then again, if they could fold down, perhaps she could fold up…

He decided to hold that thought for another time, as well. He transformed into vehicle mode and waited for Mercedes and Ironhide to hook up the flatbed. There were advantages to being small, too. He'd not soon forget that.

With Bumblebee, Regulus and Ironhide situated on the flatbed and Mercedes transformed into her father's car (which she complained mightily about, it was so ugly to her), they set off.

Optimus was worried about the twists and dips of the mountain road. And Mercedes led the way in an unfamiliar, brown Porsche 914. From what he researched, the braking would be similar, but other than that, the driving technique should be different.

He hated the "runaway" ramps installed at the declines. They were high berms of dirt made to look like you were going to run smack into them until you turned at the last moment. Mercedes took the turns too fast. It made him nervous and he sped up closer should something happen.

Regulus opened a frequency. _/Easy, Optimus, you'll scare her/_

_/_I'll _scare _her_?_ _She's driving too fast for these turns. She'll run right off the road/_

_/Do you forget she's from here?/_

Well, yes, but still..

Energon froze in his lines. "Mercedes! No!" She drifted around a corner out of sight and he heard a high-pitched scream. He floored his accelerator as he navigated the curve, eager to round it.

Her laughter caused all sorts of havoc in his servers.

Relief and anger battled for a winning emotion. Her frequency floated back to them. _/Now I know why he's always driven this thing! It takes corners like a banshee!/_

What?

Oh Slag it. He was going too fast for the curve up ahead. He slammed on his airbrakes and felt the flatbed slam against the hitch. Ow! Scrap, he was going to jackknife.

"Brace yourselves!"

Ironhide's voice entered into an urgent frequency. _/Use the runaway ramp/_

Optimus looked ahead and saw the orange and white barriers before a slope taller than he was. _/No, it's too steep!/_

_/No it's not. Regulus says that's what it's for. Use it/_

_/No—/_ So close. So close. He wasn't going to make the turn.

Ironhide climbed out from under the tarp they'd roped over him and jumped over the others to land right behind Optimus' cab. He grabbed hold of the dual smokestacks and yanked him towards the dirt berm cut into the mountain for just such a purpose.

"YeeeeeeeHAW!"

Yeehaw?

Before he could process Ironhide's yell, they'd hit the first barriers.

Oof! Ow! Sand burst from the plastic barrels like a meteor shower, pelting the nose of the rig and flying up into Ironhide's face. He had a moment to enjoy that before rumbling over small hills built to break his speed. Dirt and tiny rocks flew everywhere as the rig and flatbed slid up the embankment.

Whoa.

What was the sun doing down here?

Then he felt himself slide backwards. This must be what a child's swing felt like.

He didn't like it.

"Oh my God, Optimus, guys, are you alright?" They signaled in the affirmative. He knew she'd seen the whole thing. That nimble little car of her father's turned a one-eighty right after Ironhide grabbed his stacks like bull's horns and steered him to safety.

Blech. That dry dirt will take weeks to work out of his system. Maybe they could find a vacuum at the compound.

"Can you back out, now, Sir?" Ironhide seemed a little embarrassed. Good to know at least someone else would feel that way today. Still…

"If I don't, are you going to rope me?"

"Sorry, Sir, the moment took me."

Optimus sighed. They could take teasing from each other, but when it involved him, there was always surprise or confusion. He wasn't really that much older than the others…Only a few millennia. Of course, they may just be trying to remain respectful. It's what he would have done in their place. "It's alright, Ironhide. You saved me from my own foolishness. Thank you."

Ironhide grumbled a response. "It's nothing. It was actually Regulus' suggestion."

"It was?"

"Well, not the 'yeehaw' part, but he knew you wouldn't make the turn when you sped up."

That was quick thinking on his son's part. Not only to realize the situation, but to enlist the only member of the crew that would perform such a stunt quickly enough.

Optimus started the rig back up and carefully reversed over the smaller berms.

Regulus' voice filtered out of his truck. "Mercedes, please don't go so fast around those curves. Your scream is what caused Optimus to speed up and lose control."

"What? Oh, no, I didn't think you guys could hear that. I'm so sorry! Optimus, I'm sorry!" She sounded horrified and reversed a few feet. It was enough to know she hadn't been entirely careless of his emotions.

"Mercedes, it's alright—"

She sounded close to tears. "No its not, I shouldn't have done it."

And he couldn't take tears, human, vehicle or femme. "It's in the past and all is well. Let's move on."

She paused for a long moment in the little brown Porsche. When she spoke, it was in a very sedate and serious tone. "Okay. I promise to drive more carefully."

He wanted to hold her, stop her from feeling so guilty. He knew the burdens of guilt far too well. But all he could do at the moment was, "Thank you."

He turned his attention to the others. Better to keep going. "Is everyone settled in back there?"

Bumblebee responded. "Yes, sir. Ready when you are."

He looked to Mercedes. She turned the car around in a tight half-circle and waited.

"Alright, then let's roll out."


	21. Chapter 21: Static

Mercedes held to her promise and kept a more reasonable speed through the mountain. He still didn't like the curves and the higher they went, the more worried he became when she drifted near the edges. Every turn held anticipation. He knew she wouldn't be foolish, now, but he still worried.

At least there was a good wind. It knocked most of the loose sand off his exterior and when they dropped over a rise, the wind blew some of the sand out from underneath. It felt a little strange, but at least he stopped daydreaming about vacuum cleaners.

They were on an inclining straightaway when Mercedes broke into a frequency they could all hear. _/So, uh, Ironhide…are you thinking about changing nationalities?/_

That was a strange topic of conversation. Ironhide must have thought so, as well.

He responded in confusion. _/What?/ _

And then Optimus heard a soft "peh".

She giggled. And he thought he heard Bumblebee stifle laughter. _/You seem to be…favoring…Australia/_ If that was a means of clarification, she wasn't successful.

"P-pleh."

Ironhide felt the same way, apparently. _/I like Maggie. But I'm not sure what you're talking about/ _In fact, he started to sound irritated.

"Peh."

_/Oh, I'd say that you liking Maggie is rather obvious from my viewpoint/_

What? Optimus checked his side view mirrors. Mercedes was in front of him, so that meant whatever she saw, he could see…

Oh, brother.

She really shouldn't… _/Mercedes—/ _

_/What are you talking about! Is this because I didn't reply to Regulus when I was with Maggie…and the others…settling them in?/_ The fact that he had to clarify his location and occupation did nothing but indemnify him. Poor Ironhide. And now he was found out. As much teasing as that mech doled out, he could expect a lot of flack from— "Peh."

Optimus couldn't take it anymore. _/What _is_ that noise?/_

Mercedes responded. _/What noise?/_

_/Some kind of…spitting/_

Ironhide explained. _/…sand…peh peh. It's clogging my vocal processors. I still don't understand what Mercedes is talking about/_

_/Jeez, Hide, wake up. You're waving panties at anyone who cares to look/ _If Optimus hadn't been in vehicle mode, he'd have shaken his head at Regulus. That wasn't the way to break it to him.

_/I am not! I've never even seen her panties!/ _Well now that was an interesting evasion if Optimus ever heard one.

Mercedes locked on to that, too. _/Well that might explain how they ended up dangling from your ankle, but you should really pay more attention to poor Maggie next time you 'settle her in'/_

Bumblebee and Regulus could hardly contain themselves. Optimus felt movement in the general vicinity that Ironhide had settled under the tarp.

_/I don't have panties dangling on my…oh scrap/ _Ironhide banged his head against the flatbed in self-flagellation.

Time to intervene. _/Get them off, Ironhide, before we get to the gate/_

_/Too late, guys, we're almost there/ _Bumblebee's announcement added urgency to the situation. Ironhide was doing something under the tarp, but that had flapped up over the side and was caught around a part of Ironhide's ankle. And so were the red, white and blue panties waving their down-under version of the stars and stripes.

_/Shake it off, Ironhide/_

He shook. He wiggled and tried to loosen his arm to reach the panties. _/I can't, Optimus. They're stuck/_

How could he leap out from underneath the tarp and land right behind the cab in one fell swoop, but not reach something within a few feet? _/Well, do_ something_/_

_/I can't reach them without moving the tarp and it's stuck/_

Mercedes put an end to the interchange. _/Shh! Guys, we're at the gate. Reggie, when are you going to pop in?/_

_/Not until after you get through/_

Optimus watched through the windscreen of the little Porsche as she flickered her holoform into her father for the upcoming security gate. _/Oh this is so weird/ _She sounded distracted, but pulled off the charade easy enough.

The security guards recognized Dr. Baker's car and waved her through the gate. He watched Mercedes head down a driveway towards the parking garage. Thank Sentience Bumblebee scanned a map of the complex. He was nervous enough not being able to see her.

"Are you lost?" His attention was brought back to the guard staring insolently up at his holoform.

He used his best censure-soldier tone. "No."

Another guard stepped into view. "What brings you up here?"

"A delivery." What a silly question.

A third guard walked up to the two and spoke in a low tone. "There's a delivery on the manifest but no one saw fit to call it in."

"Uh, yeah. They have it on rush. I was told to say it was one of those special deliveries." The three looked up in surprise. Oops. Humans aren't supposed to be able to hear whispers over a Peterbuilt. He kept his face calm. Act like nothing out of the ordinary happened.

As usual, it worked. The second guard stepped back. "This one must be like the others. Huh. Let me call it in to the unloading dock."

Guard number one cocked an eyebrow. "Mind stepping out of the truck, sir? Just for a moment while we inspect the load."

"Of course not, but mind the tarp." No sense in not using available distractions. If one says not to look at something…

Bingo. They look. They both walked towards the rear of the flatbed after he stepped out of the cab. "Why? What have you got?"

It was difficult to suppress a smile. "That's the delivery. Some pile of scrap metal."

_/Scrap metal?!/_

_/Sorry, old friend. It's just for the illusion/_

"What's with the Aussie flag?"

What was the human phrase? Hook, line and sinker. He pretended ignorance. "I don't—"

The first guard reached the distraction and turned back to the other with a smarmy grin. "Ha. Carl, that's no flag."

"What the hell?" The other one quickly walked up beside him and yanked the bright cloth off Ironhide's ankle.

He looked with incredulity from guard number one to Optimus' holoform. "They're panties. Damn, fella. How the hell did you get panties snagged all the way back here?"

_/What are they doing? Stop them, they can't have her panties!/_

He heard Regulus snicker. _/Say windshear/_

"Windshear?"

Ironhide growled, Bumblebee and Regulus roared laughter over the frequency and the two guards blinked with open mouths.

Perhaps that was a bit much. "Well, I…uh…"

Carl the guard recovered first. "Oh my God. That's gotta be hard to shift while doing…that." They both look at Optimus with awe.

_/Guys, they want to valet park the car. What do I do?/_ What a time for an interruption. Thankfully, Bumblebee took point.

_/It's okay, Mercedes, I already moved your father's real car from his normal spot to general staff parking/_

She sounded unconvinced. _/I don't…Reggie, help me out here!/_

_/Coming/ _Regulus signed off the frequency and apparently sent his holoform to help Mercedes.

And left Optimus to unravel the windshear comment. He refocused on the guards, who were viewing him with an infinite increase in favor.

Carl sauntered up and clapped a hand on Optimus' shoulder. "So, big guy, how was she?"

He stared at the hand until he removed it. "Uh…nice."

The other guard jumped into the conversation. "Ho! I bet she was nice. What else you got up there?" He looked eagerly up at the flatbed, but seemed to inch closer to the cab.

_/Grrr…/_ Ironhide shifted under the tarp.

_/Easy, Ironhide. We've got to play the role/_

"Holy shit! Look at that! That's a concept car, isn't it!" They both ran from the driver's side to the passenger side to get a better look at Bumblebee's Camaro from his front.

"And that's a helluva flame job on that truck." He could tell Bumblebee was enjoying the attention, but he wondered if Regulus could monitor what was going on in both locations.

Carl looked back at Optimus. "Where you headed after this?"

The other interjected. "Probably Bonneville, right?"

Optimus scanned the internet for the reference. Salt Flats. Vehicle testing grounds. And only a few hundred miles. Perfect. "Uh huh. Yeah. Bonneville. Listen, I'm pretty tired—"

"Oh, I bet you're tired! Any more Aussie girls back where that one came from?" Carl seemed eager to peek in the cab.

_/One more remark like that and I'll activate their dental plan/_

Ironhide had been watching too many movies. Optimus shook his head and thumbed back to the tarp. "Uh…loads?" They really should be getting back to the matter at hand. This distraction worked a little too well.

One of them threw up their hands. "Gah, that sucks! Truckers have the life, man, I'm telling you."

What? Regulus popped into a frequency. _/We're in. Optimus, I'm going to have Mercedes set up a visual feed to you/_

_/Which I've already done/_

_/Good, now you can see what we're doing. We're heading straight for the safe room/_

Imagery slipped into his head like a memory. He was continuously impressed with his son's methods. And Mercedes' for that matter. He watched through her eyes as they strode down a well-lit, antiseptic hallway towards the reinforced room that housed Megatron's memory core. He sent a silent thanks to Glen who had rerouted the cameras for today. There would be no record of their time at the compound.

"Oh God, yeah. Man, I've been meaning to get out more." The guard speaking brought his attention back to the forefront. The little man was fingering Maggie's underwear.  
"Where'd you pick this one up?"

"Um…Tranquility?" Thankfully Ironhide couldn't see what he was doing. If that were a piece of Mercedes' undergarments…

Bumblebee was apparently thinking the same thing. _/We've got to get them to let us through. Ironhide won't be able to stand much more of this/_

"Is that the new chicken ranch at the bottom of the mountain on the Colorado side?"

Optimus blinked in confusion. "Chicken ranch?" He scanned the internet. Oh. OH.

Unfortunately, so did Ironhide. _/Chicken ranch!?/_

_/Uh-oh/_ Bumblebee sent a slight distress signal to Optimus. He glanced back to the tarp.

"Oh, you're probably not used to hearing about those outside of Texas. But I bet you don't even bother finding one anyway. Travellin' like you do, you probably have your pick." The guard kept inching closer to the cab. Did he think she was in there?

"Um, well, I suppose..."

"Yeah. What's it like being a trucker? You make good money?"

_/Say yes, as long as it will shut them up and let us in. Ironhide's not taking this well/ _Sure enough, the tarp was starting to twitch aside.

_/Stand down, Ironhide. The third one's coming back/ _He watched the tarp still and let out a small breath of relief.

Optimus responded to the question just as soon as the third guard walked up and started murmuring something to Carl. "Yes. It's good. Listen, gentlemen, I've got to deliver these vehicles by tonight and it's getting late. Mind letting me through?"

The guard shrugged. "Yeah, go on. It's not like they've got anything else to do with the scientists out in the field today."

Bumblebee 'voiced' his thoughts. _/Out in the field? I hope that's a figure of speech/_

"Mmm. Where do I go?"

"Just follow the signs for the unloading dock to the right."

Guard number three piped up. "Wait. They said the bay door is stuck."

Carl just pointed ahead. "Go on and head up there. I'm sure by the time you get there it'll be open."

"Thank you, gentlemen." He nodded and climbed up into the cab as the first two guards showed the third Maggie's panties and started sharing what sounded like their idea of how windshear took them out of the rig and onto the flatbed. He gunned the engine and pulled ahead.

Ironhide yelled across the frequency. _/No, why didn't you grab the panties! I can't leave them up here! Maggie will kill me!/_

_/Seems to me like she should have kept a better hold on them in the first place/_

_/Well…they were kind of a keepsake/_

So now he knew about them all along? _/I'm sorry, Ironhide. Perhaps we'll have a chance to get them back before we leave/_

Ironhide sighed heavily and closed the frequency. Optimus chuckled silently. He understood the mech's situation, but really. They were only a scrap of cloth. Means to an end and all that.

He focused on the signs taking him around to the right. The unloading dock wouldn't be too much farther, according to the plans.

He checked the visual feed from Mercedes. They were working on the access panel to the safe room. Hmm. Mercedes looked around, watching for others while Regulus hacked into the panel. The sight wasn't very interesting. A large hallway led across her field of vision.

Her head swung around and peeked over the corner when it sounded like footsteps were coming closer, but the feed was staticy. Her father was talking with a group of people. She said something to Regulus and dropped low, slipping into shadow. The feed blinked.

He could hear her breathing, and saw a new flicker of feed. Her father was heading straight for them with a group of people and a trolley full of equipment. _/sigh/_

Just as she slipped and made a noise, her father turned his head and the feed went out completely.

_/Mercedes, Regulus, what's going on?/_

_/Op…us…secur…hold…minute/ _She sounded as though she were at the end of a wind tunnel.

_/Come back, Mercedes. Unclear/_

_/I see…moving…down…get…/ _The sound went dead and his spark felt like it plummeted into his feet.

_/Regulus! Mercedes! Come in!/_

Static. Primus! Nothing but static. He tried forcing the frequency. Still nothing.

He opened up a frequency to Bumblebee and Ironhide. _/Something's wrong. I can't get a signal from the others/_

Bumblebee responded with the voice of reason. _/I'm sure they'll be fine, Optimus. This mountain's made of granite. That's a lot more interference than a hotel/_

He was right. Optimus knew Bumblebee was right. He had to push past his anxiety and focus on their part of the task, which was saving Megatron and Jazz from torture and possible dismemberment. He shook the thoughts out of his head and drove.

They finally arrived at the unloading area. They still had to get from here to the loading dock on the other side of the mountain. Why didn't they house the two next to each other? He pulled up to another gate.

The fellow looked up at his holoform and hung up the phone. "I'm sorry, man, but you'll have to move it to the loading dock. The bay door won't open."

Optimus sighed in frustration for effect. "Can I at least pull up and turn around?"

"Yeah, that'll be fine. I'm sorry."

The apologetic sort always made him feel more guilty. "It's not your fault. Is there someone over there that can unload the…uh…item?"

The man glanced back at the flatbed. "Do you need a forklift or something?"

"A hoist. It's kind of heavy."

He looked back at Optimus and reached for the phone. "Can you work it yourself? We're left with only a couple of guys and they're working on fixing the door and this hoist. Man, we're having all kinds of problems today."

"I can work it. Just tell me where to go. I've gotta get my other delivery out of here and on the other side of Utah by nightfall."

He looked with interest at the vehicles on the flatbed, then back to Optimus. "Head back to the right, keep going for a bit, then follow the loading dock signs to the left."

Optimus shot a little parting irritation for the worker's benefit. "Go right, go left, you'd think they could plan the site a bit better."

He dropped the phone's mouthpiece below his chin. "Pardon?"

"Nothing. Thanks."

Optimus pulled ahead and took advantage of a very human imitation of turning the rig and flatbed around. At least they were generous with the space.

He waved to the fellow at the gate as they pulled back into the lane and turned right. _/Good job, Bumblebee/_

_/Thank you, Sir/_ Optimus enjoyed the scout's pride for a moment before remembering to check on Regulus and Mercedes. He tried the signal again. Blast! Nothing.

_/Have either of you been able to receive a transmission from Regulus or Mercedes?/_

There was a pause where he assumed they tried to reach the others. Bumblebee responded first. _/No sir/_

_/Nothing. It's like they just disappeared/ _Optimus really didn't like to think about that.

Bumblebee must have sensed it. _/Shut up, Ironhide/_

_/What. I'm just sayin/_

_/Well, don't say/_

They stayed silent the few minutes it took to reach the other side of the mountain for the loading docks. Thankfully, they were closer to the compound and the helipad. He passed through the unmanned gate and maneuvered the rig around to back up to the dock. There really wasn't another person around. Every few moments, he shot a questing frequency to try to reach Mercedes or Regulus, but still came up with nothing.

He stopped a few inches short of the dock platform and turned off his engine.

_/Alright, well, we're set up. Unload and start for the helipad/_ He flickered out the holoform since there wasn't anyone around and waited for the others.

Bumblebee transformed and stepped off the flatbed. _/I hate to be a devil's advocate, but are we sure that's where they'd take them?/_ He started untangling the tarp from over Ironhide.

A valid question, but, _/We went over this, Bumblebee. There's no other location on site that would allow for this kind of experiment/_

Ironhide climbed down and stretched a bit while he folded up. _/He's just trying to cover our bases, Optimus/_

Optimus sighed. He knew he was over-reacting, but there was so much at stake here. _/Agreed. But let's move quickly in case that becomes a problem. Time is running out/ _What if they didn't reattach Megatron's memory core in time? What if the humans had performed the same operation on Jazz and they couldn't find _his_ core?

_/Wait. Someone is approaching/_ Not being able to transform irritated Optimus. He needed to be acting, not sitting. He turned on his holoform so he could at least interact with whomever was coming.

Regulus burst through a metal door opening onto the dock platform and ran down the steps. It looked as though he'd been running a while. "Oh, man, am I…glad to see…you guys. This is so weird…being a…completely separate…holoform. I couldn't transmit back..so I came to tell you…"

Couldn't transmit back his holoform? How? He stared at the unmoving door. Where—"Where's Mercedes?"

"She…went to follow…" Optimus' holoform heart slammed into his chest.

_Follow!?_

He strode up to Regulus' holoform and took him by the shoulders. "Follow who _where_?"

Regulus had trouble regaining his breath. "We got…the core…" He unloaded a cloth pack from his shoulders. Optimus stared in horror at the obscenely small remnant of his brother. "But they aren't…here."

He stared desperately into his son's eyes. "Who's not here?"

"Optimus, let the bot breathe." Ironhide's voice from so high above shook Optimus out of his shock and brought him to the reality that he'd been shaking Regulus. He released him immediately and Regulus blinked out.

Oh, now was _not_ the time to disappear. He whipped his head around to the truck on the flatbed just as he transformed and stepped down. Optimus took a steadying breath and looked up at the three mechs towering above him.

No use focusing on his inability to transform while the flatbed was hooked up. He swallowed and tried to wet an oddly dry mouth. "Where did Mercedes go?"

"She followed them into the caves."

"Caves?" Bumblebee repeated the clarification the same time Optimus did.

"She overheard them and followed them into the caves."

If he'd not been a twentieth of his son's size, he'd grab him by the chest plates. "What caves! In the name of all that's Sentient what are you talking about?!"

_/You left her ALONE!?/_

Regulus looked surprised. _/I had no choice, Father. She couldn't home in on your location like I could and it would have cost precious time. If she gets caught, she'll be able to use her father to bargain a way out/_

He practically felt the red haze fall over his sight. "What!?"

"Optimus? Calm down. What's going on?" Oh, right. Let _Ironhide _be the voice of reason, now. Optimus' hands clenched into fists. He stepped closer to the rig and punched as hard as he could into the door panel, then promptly let loose a howl in pain as he felt bones crack under the holoform skin. He rippled the dent out of the door and corrected the damage to his hand before he turned back to face the others.

Who all stared at him in shock.

He couldn't figure out what was more irritating: the fact that his son couldn't give a clear reason for leaving his mother alone to follow unknown people into an unknown cave system or the fact that they were surprised at his fit of temper. Really. It wasn't like he'd taken it out on one of them…like his brother would have.

He looked over at the cloth pack wrapped around Megatron's memory core. If they couldn't reach the test site in time, _that_ was all that was left. And now they had no idea where Mercedes was. The only person who could bring him back from the void.

Optimus walked over and picked up the pack. It felt grotesquely out of shape. As he unwrapped it, he heard Regulus try to explain. "We found the safe room and got in really easy. Just as I grabbed the core, Mercedes saw a group of people with her dad. She overheard that they were taking the test subjects through the caves to another site. One that's closer to sea level and more protected than the helipad. We couldn't transmit or get back to our protoforms, so she sent me with the core and followed them into the caves."

What he saw was…sickening. Optimus held in his hands only half of his brother's memory core. The melted half. That meant the other half was still in the body. "But what…how…" He looked around helplessly at the others. Did they see what he did? Something was wrong with his eyes. As much as he blinked, he couldn't see clearly. Tears?

They stared back in silence. Their utter stillness reached into his own shock and spurred him to action. They needed to act and quickly. "Where is she now?" Was that his own voice, so shaky?

Regulus folded down closer to Optimus' size. "I can take you down there, but I think it would cause more trouble for Mercedes. It's actually better for her to be down there solo. I hate it as much as you do, but we need to load her car onto the flatbed and take her protoform with us. If it works the same way as it did when I found you guys, then we should be able to use her protoform to home in her holoform signal. That's how I found you so fast."

Optimus couldn't think too much or he'd fall apart. This was too much. Too much. He carefully placed the core onto the flatbed and stared for a moment. Lead. He must lead. They must do this.

He composed himself as much as possible and turned back to the others. "She's in the parking garage. Bumblebee, didn't you say you'd moved her father's car this morning?"

He took the cue for action. "Yes, sir, I know exactly where the valet would have parked the car. But how do we get her out?"

Regulus gave the solution. "That's easy. I'll just drive her out."

They looked at Optimus for the next step. It was all he needed to push past his anxiety and take up the reigns again. "Load up. Ironhide, can I entrust you to hold on to the memory core?"

He couldn't look at it again or his bravado would fail. He stared a plea at his Second in Command.

Ironhide nodded. He reached for it tentatively, but then just grabbed it. He cradled it gingerly as he made his way back under the tarp and folded down to be a smaller pile. The others climbed up onto the flatbed and transformed into vehicle mode.

Optimus blinked out and started up the rig, then checked the map for the quickest route to the parking garage. Thank Sentience, it was just ahead and to the right. He took a moment to try one more time to reach Mercedes. Still nothing.

He let steam out of his stacks and rolled out of the loading area. They pulled up to the parking garage and Regulus popped his holoform into view just inside, in the shadows.

"Ah! No! Nonononononono…" For a moment, Optimus thought Regulus had needed to fight off an attacker. Then he realized that the voice came from:

"Ironhide?"

Optimus immediately shifted his holoform onto the flatbed and lifted the tarp. Bumblebee turned on his holoform to a kneel beside him. Regulus paused and met Optimus' gaze with a question.

"No, go get Mercedes."

He nodded and trotted off deeper into the garage.

"Gah! I can't stop—I can't help it…NO!" Optimus helped Bumblebee tear off the tarp the rest of the way. Ironhide had been clutching it, using it as if it would protect him.

The core was glowing in his small grasp and Ironhide's optics were non-functional. He was fighting with them for grip on the tarp.

"No!"

Optimus reached out and shook his shoulder. "Ironhide! What's going on?"

He clawed at Optimus' grasp with his free hand. "What is this—who is this—STOP IT!"

Optimus sat back on his heels to evaluate. Bumblebee reached for the memory core. "NO! Bumblebee don't touch it!"

Thankfully he stopped short. "I'm sure that's the problem, Sir."

Optimus looked at Bumblebee. Sir. Always Sir. When he'd been a son to Optimus longer than the time it took to give up hope of a son of his own. "That's precisely why you can't touch it." He stared at the man beside him. How different Bumblebee and Regulus were. One light, one dark.

Which one was more his son? The one that looked like him or the one that acted like him? Was there any difference?

Regulus spoke urgently into a frequency. _/She won't start/_

This entire mission seemed to be falling apart. He reached up and clasped his forehead in his hands. _/What?/_

Regulus explained. _/Her signal is too widespread. She can't focus enough on her holoform and keep her protoform awake. She's gone into a stasis here so she can follow them down there/_

What to do, what to do? He glanced down at Ironhide, crooning helplessly to himself. Bumblebee just stared back at Optimus, waiting for a directive. Focus. First things first. _/Can you put the vehicle in neutral and push her out?/_

_/I'll try…Got it. Coming/_

Okay. Optimus sighed a bit.

Now, Ironhide.

Bumblebee was right, the core was causing some sort of reaction with the person in direct contact with it. He couldn't let anyone else risk it. He had no choice. At least the core might recognize Optimus and cause less…

He reached towards the core…

…difficulty.

He didn't even realize he was holding his breath until he held the core in his hands and let loose a great sigh. He looked to Ironhide. His optics flickered and then lit as if on fire. He sat up and threw the tarp off, looking around every direction.

"What happened?"

"You had a reaction from being in contact with the memory core."

Optimus stared at Ironhide, looking for clues that he remembered what he saw. It was the same look. _That_ same look. The one he'd had yesterday morning in the parking lot after the visions. "Are you alright?"

Ironhide stared hard into Optimus' eyes, then after a moment, nodded tersely. "Don't let that thing near me. I don't ever want to see what I saw again."

"You won't have to. I'll keep it. I'm sorry for asking you."

Ironhide looked up from his hands. Despair. He couldn't tear his eyes away. Ironhide hated that he couldn't take the burden for him. The realization blinded him for a moment.

All this time he'd thought the others didn't realize what a burden his brother had been to him…

The moment was pushed aside as Regulus' holoform rolled the Porsche out of the garage and into the light. "She's a lot heavier than she looks. How do we get her up on the flatbed?" He saw everyone on the flatbed and paused.

_/Is everything…okay?/ _He must have directed the question specifically at Optimus, for Bumblebee sat back when Ironhide dropped in exhaustion to lay down.

_/It's fine, now/_

Regulus continued. "I saw some loading ramps back at the dock. I'll go, but I'll need someone to help me bring them back."

"I'll go help." Oddly enough, the offer came from Ironhide.

Optimus watched him turn over and lay flat as Regulus blinked out, transformed and stepped down, only to transform again. "Can you transmit that far?"

He looked up at Optimus from where he lay. "Regulus gave me an idea when we synched. I think that you guys transmit differently. We projected, whereas you three actually changed the matter around you."

Optimus turned his head in the direction Ironhide did and watched Ironhide's holoform solidify beside Regulus' truck. He pulsed the air around him for effect.

_/See? I wasn't sure it would work and I didn't want to chance it on the operation/_

_/Good work, Ironhide/_ Millions of years and there were still new things to learn. He shook his head in amazement and saluted his Second. With a smile, he saluted back and climbed into the truck.

Optimus turned to Bumblebee. "Do you have any shockers for me?"

They both chuckled. "Not that I know of."

"Good. I don't think I can take many more surprises right now."

Bumblebee fiddled with the tarp. "You played the security guards well, back there."

"Thank you. But it seems that humans have so much more complexity to them. Take Sam, for instance. He could have talked his way into the compound much more quickly than I did."

Bumblebee smiled at the mention of his ward. There was a special connection there that would have made Optimus jealous at one time. "Yes, he would have. But he wouldn't have used available distractions so…effectively." He smiled with a devilish gleam in his eye at Optimus, but then turned his gaze more seriously to Ironhide's form laid out beside them. "Do you think he can hear us?"

"If it's as Regulus says, the further away you are from your protoform, the less you can concentrate on it. It's as if when we recreate holoforms from matter, we transfer our consciousness to it."

"Interesting. We'll have to experiment with that when this is over."

"Yes, we will." They stared for a moment in silence.

"What do you think he saw?"

Optimus looked up at Bumblebee. He knew very well what he'd seen. There were only two incidents that Megatron had been involved in that would cause such abject horror in Ironhide. Both of them slaughters that Ironhide had no control over. It was his greatest fear, to be helpless in battle.

"Do you remember much from your mother's death?"

The question took Bumblebee by surprise. He looked from Optimus to Ironhide and back again. He shook his head in denial.

Denial of knowing or wanting to know? The answer to that was more important than answering Bumblebee's question, so he stayed silent and let him draw his own conclusions.

"They're coming."

Thank Sentience. Optimus really didn't want to rehash the slaughters at this moment. He hopped down from the flatbed and helped the others set up the ramps to push Mercedes into Regulus' previous spot.

It took all of them directing the Porsche up the ramps, but they finally got her in place.

"Primus, she really is a lot heavier than she looks."

Optimus glanced over at Ironhide, who blinked back innocently.

Regulus interceded. "Optimus? Is there a way for her to change into another vehicle mode?"

He gave Ironhide a slightly warning look and turned to his son. "Not that I know of. She would have to process the algorithms herself. We might be able to project a hologram onto her, though. Do you think you can hold one on her while we head out?"

"Yeah, that shouldn't be hard. I'll fold down and ride in the cab, if that's okay," Optimus nodded at the query, "Then I can project my truck image onto her while we're still in the compound."

"Alright. Let's head out and regroup at the hotel."

"Uh…Optimus?" He turned to face Regulus with attention. "We may lose her signal if we don't keep in that direction. She was headed east, not south."

"Right. Hang on." He opened up a frequency to, _/Ratchet?/_

_/What is it, Optimus? What's wrong?/ _Optimus modified his transmission to reduce the emotion, but Ratchet would probably see through that.

Gah! Why was everything so difficult today? _/Get the humans and head out for the highway heading east into Colorado/ _He scanned a map for a waypoint._ /We'll rendezvous just outside of Paradox. Mercedes has broken off and followed the scientists into a system of caves to an off site facility where they've taken Megatron and Jazz. We're going to need Maggie's help with some signal tracking/_

_/Yes, sir. But what about the young ones? I fear that Sam and Mikaela are more of a burden at this point/_

_/They may still have their uses. For now, for expediency, they need to come along. Hurry/_

_/Will do, Sir/_

They closed the frequency and Optimus addressed the others. "Okay. Ratchet will meet us on the other side of the mountain with the humans. Let's move out."

With a projection of himself onto Mercedes firmly in place, Regulus folded down and climbed into the cab to hide in the sleeper. Ironhide hid back under the tarp and Bumblebee stayed where he'd been. Optimus made sure Mercedes was tied down securely, carefully placed the core on the passenger seat and started the engine.

It was such a satisfying sound at the moment.

They rode in silence all the way to the security gate where they'd come in. Apparently, the guards had a bit of free time and decided to raise Maggie's panties in a salute to Optimus as he drove through.

He watched in his side view mirror as Ironhide reached out and snatched the panties back. The looks on the guards' faces were priceless.

He focused back on the road ahead. This time, time really was running out. They had to meet up with Ratchet to get Maggie to tap into Mercedes so they could track her.

All while she was alone down in the caves with people who either didn't know or didn't care about her.

If he'd learned anything at all from their synching, it was that Mercedes was mortally afraid of being alone in the dark.

He accelerated as much as he dared with such precious cargo in tow.


	22. Chapter 22: The Core

The painted rocks ahead reminded Optimus of the sunset over Cybertron. The metallic walkways and turrets gleaming in myriad shades of light, from gold to copper to crimson…

It reminded him of one of the last sunsets he shared with Megatron before he…

Before…

_The last dispute had been settled for the day. Fairly and Firmly. It was the way of things since Optimus had assumed the Matrix of Leadership. The brothers did their duty for the day and just as the last sun sank into the horizon, they would stand at the balcony and just…watch._

_Optimus just let his mind go blank and watched the sun set on the day, watched it paint the land in color. He watched the warmth fade into shadow and let his worries from the day drop off into the horizon with the sun. _

**It was like that for me, too, sometimes.**

**But sometimes, it was like watching the world catch fire. I imagined it burned away…everything holding us back.**

But nothing was holding us back…

He scoffed. **You'd like to think that. Don't fool yourself. You know as well as I that we were both tethered to our beliefs. We just learned to hold it in check for a while.**

Why did we lose that battle?

**Others wanted us to.**

Who? Who took that from us?

**We did.**

I—what?

**We let it happen.**

How could we? We watched it…all…everyday. We protected it.

**Not all. There was one we didn't watch. One **_**you**_** didn't watch. I watched him…differently than I should have.**

Omega?

He nodded. **Atreus, too.**

But he's dead.

**Yes and no.**

It's either one or the other.

**Not with us. Not with **_**him.**_

_ It's cold._

_I can't think that Omega intended for this to happen. _

_ Earth…the ice…find a hole to fall into…_

But what about the All-Spark?

**It's safe. He can't have it if they don't know where I am. **

Who?

**Omega. He wants it back. He wants to destroy you.**

Because of Elita?

_ Optimus, GO! You have to survive with the Matrix!_

He sneered. **No. He'd like that you felt that guilty over her death. Oh, he'd like that very much. He could feed off your guilty nature for a century.**

He didn't start the war over wanting Elita?

**You really are naïve, brother.**

_I am too like him to interest him for much longer. _

_The ice was comforting. So cold. So heavy. I couldn't think from the polarity, it literally spun me in circles._

_No thinking…no feeling…no hating Optimus…but still my faithful pain._

**The ice closed around me before I could send you my last thoughts, brother.**

Waking…disorientation…_NO! The ice! It was melting. His home, his comfort was melting away like his happily null void. Omega would find them, now. They were already here._

_They _are_ already here. _They_ did this. They melted me. They they they they they…_

_The All-Spark was here. It was within my grasp. Omega wants it. _

_The humans were stupid enough to bring us together…to bring our war… _

The noise of a steel whip cracking woke him from a sated recharge. It sliced the plating down his upper arm with a devastatingly beautiful efficiency. The pain… it was delicious.

_He shall have it._

The road wound around and around and down and up and down and down. Trees here and there, short like scrub, bent like the old, flying by the window faster and faster. The one beside him knew fear. It was new to him, but he knew it. New and old…how…fascinating…

_How horribly delicious._

_Fear. Irrational, luscious fear. He craved it. It had a taste. It had a texture. It slipped across his tongue like energon through his fingers…slippery…tangy…satisfying._

_He'd almost like to drink it every morning to start the day._

Tendrils of the flavor of fear wafted across his sensors like high grade, tempting and pulling. His intakes cycled faster, but only for a moment. He couldn't let anyone else know the effect it had on him.

The only thing more precious than fear was control.

Control fear: control destiny.

_And controlling fear was his favorite occupation. He doled it out like others did compliments. He controlled how it was given, when it was given, who it was given to and how much they got._

_Starscream was the only one who suspected that it was more than just a thirst for supreme rule. And that was only because he'd been subjected to it the longest. _

_"You disappoint me yet again, Starscream."_

_"But Father—I…"_

_Crack! _

_Omega was his first, but the second…he let the second be himself. _

_His voice lived up to the named expectation. It was devastating in its horrific beauty._ **Omega must never know. It's just between us. Starscream, my friend…only you know…**

Teeth in a line, in a wire, caught on a circuit, bending a fuse. Energon following gravity in a wonderous path over cuts and tears.

_And it was delicious. _

_There it was again. It was right there, right within his grasp. Why not reach out and take it?_

_Why not?_

_Why couldn't he?_

_Why? Why why why whywhywhywhywhywhywhy…the f e a r …_

_It was necessary, like air. Like energon. Like pain. _

_It was. Right. There._

_To the left._

Regulus!

Optimus shifted down…he couldn't breathe…too much air, too high of an altitude. Who was that? Were these his thoughts? His memories? They felt like… They felt like…

Megatron. The core.

_/Sir? Optimus? Is everything okay?/_

He shifted back up. This would be difficult. Even with this lee in the waterfall of information, he felt like he'd slip back into the seeking core any moment. Would he stay there? Would he come back, if he fell? Would he want to? _My brother…_

_/Yes, I'm fine/_

At least he hoped he would be. It was a longer drive down this side of the mountain and the few miles to Paradox was starting to look like it might take a while. _Mercedes, where are you?_

He very gingerly accelerated again.

**Such innocence.**

_It had been so long since he'd had a taste of that innocence. He himself hadn't had it in many millennia. _

_Innocent fear was so tender, it needed to be drawn out…savored._

an awl against metal, screeching in protest down the fine surface, marring the perfection for the first time…piercing a fuel line…energon dribbling in little rivulets only to be lapped up under a pair of crimson eyes

_Ah, yes, that was a lovely moment. _

_Sadly, the receiver can only experience that first innocent fear once._ /I'm stuck! Optimus help me! Ha ha, you're welded to the floor!/ _He regretted that, but it had opened so many portals of opportunity to give that experience and live it vicariously._

digging into Optimus' shoulder the day of selection. Sparks trembled up his circuitry and energon heated his fingers. His brother. His own brother. I can't do this. _You have to. For you, for us, for Cybertron_.

claws gauging into abdominal plates, ripping circuitry and worshipping the sparks that caused

_yesssssssssssss_

_Optimus, where are you?_

Mercedes?

_/OPTIMUS!/_

Regulus…he jerked and shuddered, his brakes heating up from not downshifting into the decline. Too much air. He was hyperventilating. The thoughts…the memories…

Did she call? Or was that a mixed memory?

They felt so real…they were real. He'd lived some of these, too.

Regulus placed a hand on the back of the passenger seat. _/Optimus, what's going on? Why have you stopped?/_

Stop? Why would he stop? This was the first talk with Megatron he'd had in thousands of years. _/I—I—I/_

_/What's wrong?/_

_/Do we need to get Ratchet up here?/ _Ironhide's concern brought him back to Utah. Utah. Mercedes…can't lose track…

_/Wait! No…I just…can't…breathe…think/_

_/It's okay, Regulus. He just needs a moment/_ Ironhide sounded…understanding. But he would, wouldn't he? He'd seen some of this, too…

_/He doesn't need to be driving if the core's effecting him that much/_

Who else could do this? _/I'm fine. Just…give me a moment/_

He drew in a deep, slow breath through his intake and let great bellows of steam out the smokestacks. He repeated the gesture methodically twice more.

Bumblebee was oddly silent.

The hardest part of reliving these moments was that they took place as if they were completely his own.

His own emotions, his own thoughts, his own logic. That was difficult to reconcile.

_Reconciliation was for the weak. It held no dignity. There was no winning with reconciliation. _

_Winning was what it was all about, now. Proving that he was the best, above _all_ others. _

a shift to the right, throwing a hit to the throat that doubled the other over in excruciating pain. Was it really so wrong to enjoy watching the suffering of one who'd played favorites for so long? Was it that terrible to hit and hit again the one who had created the differences between himself and his brother? Starscream was lucky. He was the only one to vie for Omega's favor.

Starscream was Omega's son?

What? How?

Well, he knew _how_…but still…

"Do it." He narrowed his optics at the unnamed mech shaking before him.

The little scrap heap whined back. "I can't."

He grabbed the top of his chest plates and dragged the slag near. "You _will_. I _order_ you to."

Optics flared. "B-but it's suicide."

He smiled. Omega loved it when he smiled and so he did it whenever he was near. Watching. "I know. Do it or I'll kill you myself." That was what was appealing. The petulant little brat of an officer didn't deserve to be a member of the Decepticon Army if he couldn't do a simple thing like take out a traitor.

Oh, what a delightful feast of fear he devoured from the officer's optics as the slag pile slumped his frame and left to find Megatron's biggest disappointment.

_Unfortunately, the temptation of one last murder was the final stroke that sent that traitor straight to Optimus and his optimistic faction._

Faction? But _he_ betrayed _me._ He acted as though he were the one betrayed. And who was traitor to Megatron? Someone who apparently had a talent he valued…

A thought flitted through his mind before another memory hijacked it.

**Not you, brother. **

"No! You can't make me do it."

"I can and I will. Don't you see it's necessary for the survival of our kind? If he doesn't step down from leadership and let you finally take control of what should have been yours in the first place, our kind will cease to exist."

A large, clawed hand slipped across his shoulders and strummed his neck lines like Mercedes' guitar strings.

_Mercedes…_

His voice lowered in timbre and location to tremble his audial sensors. "I need you…"

_ Yes_? His breath sped up.

Another hand clawed into his back, wrenching the plate there into a crinkle. _Yesssss_…"To do whatever it takes…"

"Please…" _Whatever it takes_…no one else could give him this…

"He's not your brother anymore, Megatron."

"Not my…?" Omega pinched a fuel line that led to his cpu. _Dizzy_…

"_Not_ your brother." He let go of the line and as the rush of energon flooded his processors, Omega pinned his arms down to the wall in front of them both and bit down hard into his neck.

"Not my brother…_not my brother_…"

"Gah!"

Oh Primus…oh Primus…It made his spark ache. Each new thing Megatron's core presented to him did nothing but break his heart. But he didn't have a _heart_. He had a _spark_.

Light. The spark. Mercedes was the spark now. Where was she? In the caves. In the dark. She needed the light. She _was_ the light…

Oh no. Not more…

Megatron paced around Omega. "Lord High Protector is a start."

He wasn't looking. "It's still Second."

"It's equal."

"It's not First. _I_ never had an equal."

He wasn't looking! What did he have to do to keep his interest? "No, you had to throw it away for vanity!"

He looked. He stared and the red, red optics flared, then narrowed. _That's it. Punish me. I want to be Second because I want you to be First again. For me._

Again?

He stood. "Don't EVER question my superiority. I am the Omega. I AM the reason you've come so far. NEVER forget that!" With that, he stepped forward and the sycophant kept his smile hidden from his god. _Do it. Do it do it do it. Do it NOW._

He watched the arc of the hit in slow motion. _Crack!_

That's it. Again. _Crack! _Again! _Crunch!_

His head whipped around and broke a small feeder line with the speed of it. _Here it comes_.

The kiss of a sadist.

He crawled into a corner when it was done. Omega denied him reciprocation. Why did he crave his favor when he knew he'd never give it?

_ He didn't know I'd taken the same advantage of Starscream. The only one who understood._

Why _did_ he crave his favor? The flashes of memory had Optimus stalled out on the side of the road, wheezing for air, for sanity.

He realized the connection had stopped.

_/What happened?/_

Regulus responded with a tremulous transmission. _/I took it/_

_/What?/_ No! No, he can't have it. He can't. Megatron will devour him…

_/We can't wait any longer. Mercedes is still in the caves. We've got to go/_

Fear. He fed on fear. If he held on to his own fear, maybe Megatron wouldn't try to feed off Regulus. He reminded himself that she was alone. _/How dare you! It wasn't yours to take!/_

_/I--/_

_/Give it back!/_

_/No/_

_/What!?/_ Why not?

_/No. We need to get to Mercedes and we can't do that if you're stalled out on the side of the road/_

_/And whose fault is it that we need to get to Mercedes?/_

_/Optimus!/_ Ironhide sounded shocked. As well he should, but this was between him and Megatron. No one else. Megatron was _his_ brother. His. Regulus had nothing to do with this.

How dare he interfere? He'd done enough when he left Mercedes…

_/He's the reason she's down there, all alone! He's the one who disobeyed my orders to stay with her. Knowing she's untrained in her form. Knowing she's unpredictable. Knowing that the situation between her and her father is nothing but volatile and could do nothing but put the entire operation in danger! Knowing—/_

_/Optimus, cool it!/_

_/I'm not finished, Ironhide! She's all alone down there because Regulus decided it was easier to run back to us than to stay with her—/_

_/That's enough, Prime! He just did what his elder told him to—/_

_/She's afraid of the dark. Of being alone in the dark. He _knew_ that. She's untrained—/_

_/And whose fault is that? Whose? Really, Prime, I'd like to know, because you acting like an aft and blaming others for your own shortcomings is not what I expected from you. Me, yes, but _notyou_/_

_/I gave him an order to go down there with her and protect her/_

_/He's just a kid, Optimus. He was literally almost born yesterday. He's not one of us and frankly, I've never seen you treat any of us like this/_

_/You don't understand what's at stake here/_

_/Don't I? Do you think we're all just along for the ride? Do you think I just get my kicks following you around the universe? Wake up, Optimus! What's wrong with you?/_

He stopped. Wrong? He couldn't begin to list the sins he'd committed.

That alone stopped him. The fact that he'd forgotten how much Ironhide didn't know. How much he, himself, had not known. Still didn't understand…

And they didn't understand at all. Why wasn't Bumblebee inserting his opinion? Where was his council?

The council…

They'd not known the poison leeching into Megatron when they'd agreed to Optimus' plea of a dual leadership. Anything to keep his brother…keep him happy.

All of the Autobots with him were loners. They all were. As most transformers were. None of them knew the politics of siblings.

But then he remembered the campsite. He mentally smiled. The flaming marshmallow…the aspen leaves…sap…

What was he thinking? _Of course_ they knew. _They_ were his brothers.

Why had he not seen that?

Ah Primus, how was he to apologise?

_/Ironhide, I'm sorry/_

_/Forget it/_

_/You're right. I wasn't…myself/_

_/I know that. Slag it, Optimus, after all this time—I know you. Just let the kid know, okay?/_

_/Thank you/_

_/Forget it/_

He wouldn't. He knew it was Ironhide's gruff demeanor that kept him from expressing his disappointment, but at the same time, that was what had just kept Optimus together.

He'd make it up to him, somehow.

Right now, _/Bumblebee?/_

_/Don't worry about me. I—I'm just…listening/_ There was a tone in his voice…

_/What's wrong?/_

_/I just want…we just need to get going/_

_/Yes, but what's bothering you?/_

_/You. Just be careful, Sir. We can't do this without you/_

He broke the link with a snap that nearly sent Optimus into panic. This wasn't the way things went. This wasn't how things were supposed to go today. Bumblebee…he always gave his opinion, his thoughts…

What did Regulus think about him?

_/Regulus?/ _What if he didn't want to speak to him?

His tentative query was met immediately. _/It's alright/_

Relief. _/No…it's not…/_

_/It is. I…see more than you think I do/_ He did not want to think about that. He felt horrible for forgetting Regulus was family. His son. What must he think of him? Of Megatron? What exactly had he seen?

Later. _/Be that as it may, what I said to you was wrong and completely out of line/_

_/You forget. I know you. I may only be a couple of days old, but when we synched, I got all of you. Everything/_

Optimus' mind blanked at processing just how much that encompassed. _/I…don't know how to respond to that/_

_/I'm taking the core from now on. Until we can find a permanent home for it, I'm the only one with enough…space…to store it aside and not process it/_

_/I can't let you do that. It's not your burden to bear/ _If it did the same to Regulus that it did to Ironhide and him, he'd never forgive himself.

_/Well, you've got to let someone help you carry those burdens sometimes. It doesn't just hurt _you_, you know/_

He honestly didn't know what to say. He was right, wasn't he? Regulus was not most Autobots…

_/Just, let's get moving. Time is ticking/_

And sometimes, there just wasn't anything _to_ say.

For the first time in millennia, Optimus let someone else carry the burden that should be his. Regulus kept the core and Optimus drove.

Mercedes…

_ Megatron…_


	23. Chapter 23: Cascade

Once gone, the saturation of having Megatron in his servers left him feeling oddly worn. He felt like a great wind had blown across his circuits and suddenly stopped, leaving a humming silence. Nothing would process through the nearly overworked servers of his mind except his driving responses.

He was partially thankful for that.

But partially not.

This numbness was uncomfortable. He longed to stand up and stretch his legs. It was starting to feel awfully cramped, curled into the rig, and it would probably be another half hour or so before he could transform.

Best not to think too much on that.

He wondered how Regulus was doing. Now he understood Mercedes' need to talk…only two days ago? He mentally rolled his optics. Two days and so much had happened. He took in more air through his intake to steady his system.

Something foreign flew into the scoop. He coughed. It must have been an insect. They were aplenty on this part of the road.

The only thing keeping him silent and refraining from chattering like the squirrel they just passed was the thought that he really didn't have anything to say…

But he could at least see how Regulus was faring with the core. "How are things going back there?" Optimus peered through the rear view mirror.

Regulus looked up at the sound of the mirror moving. He was sitting on the sleeper, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and the core hidden behind the passenger seat. Optimus didn't know what to think about that. Was it protective? Was it pitying? Or just cautionary? "Things…are fine."

Something in his voice reminded him of Bumblebee choosing his words. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm fine." He kept the core hidden but stared steadily into the mirror.

He wondered, "Would you tell me if you weren't?"

Regulus smiled. "Probably not. But I'm fine."

Optimus sighed his disapproval into the cab. "Alright."

Try to watch the road. Don't worry about Regulus. Just drive.

He felt more than saw the few scrubby trees pass by. Insects popped on the hot asphalt and got stuck in his grille. Ugh. It made him remember an animated short film Sam made them all watch one time, advertising the movie "Cars".

It made him miss the clean metal of Cybertron.

"…opop…"

He sensed an increase in humidity. Hmm.

"…opopopop…"

He could hear the dripping water ahead. It was slightly irritating, like the sand still in his undercarriage.

Sand was also still caked on his windshield.

He sent fluid through the delivery agent to wipe the windshield clean and felt it scrape against the glass. Slag it. It wasn't coming off. He wet the windshield again and wiped a few more times. Insects were stuck on there as well and lent their bodily fluids to the mess on the glass.

"…opopop…opopop…"

There was that noise again. It was grating on his nerves and seemed to be echoing off something up ahead. He tuned down his audio levels.

A sharp curve led to the left and as he turned it, he immediately felt a greater increase in moisture. A waterfall started high up on the ridge. Tiny, but there. Well, at least he found what the echo was coming from. And the insects.

He coughed again when a swarm of them was sucked into this air intake. It was disturbing to him that there were creatures small enough to actually enter his system.

Gah! Unicron would bless this sand. He swiped the wiper blades harder with more fluid. Ahhhh. There. Now he felt a little better.

"…opopopop…"

Or maybe not. Wait, why could he hear it with the volume turned down? He turned it back up and searched around to find the source of the sound. Maybe it was a reverberation or something.

What he saw during his search completely stole his attention. This side of the mountain was still in shade and considerably cooler. Much, much cooler. And because of that, the waterfall was…frozen.

The upper portion of the waterfall was covered in ice, like a dripping helmet. The sun was beating hot on the roof of his cab but there was ice on this side of the mountain. His intakes cycled faster and he immediately coughed. Blasted insects.

The sun glinted off the ice as it rose above the rocky crest, dancing light into his cab.

"Would you look at that?" It was strangely beautiful. Mercedes would love to see this. Somehow he just knew she would.

Regulus responded. He'd almost forgotten the question. "Yeah. It's weird."

Optimus chuckled. "You are definitely like your mother."

Regulus smiled into the mirror. "You think so?"

"Well, I know I would not have used the word 'weird'."

"And I can't just use the word because I think it's appropriate?" There was a teasing tone Optimus was glad to hear.

"Not if you were completely Transformer."

"Really?" He sounded doubtful.

"Really."

"I've heard Bee use it. And Hide, for that matter."

"And they've both had humans influence them."

"I guess." Somehow the concession didn't seem like one. He let it go.

"You still okay?"

"Yep." Regulus looked away from the mirror and out the window as if to close the conversation. Optimus let him. Something wasn't right, though.

He needed to get to the base of the mountain, fast. He split his attention regrettably and looked to the curving road ahead. The water ran off under the road in three little bridges that twisted around the eroded rock formations. Conifers dotted the landscape here, along with a few indigenous animals.

"…**opopopopopopop…"**

What would make that infernal noise? It must be something echoing from the water. He scanned the area. There was too much interference, especially when he approached the second bridge that held the larger tributary of the waterfall.

All of a sudden, his vision flashed dark several times in quick succession. **Cold. Damp. Echoes…frustration?** He slowed down and stopped just over the bridge. What was that?

He sorted through the images and was afraid that Regulus had dropped the core. Oh Merciful Sentience, not now, please.

He waited…this was different. The transmission held a different taste to it. Where Megatron was energetic and agitated, this felt…panicking. No where near as invasive, either. It was an impression of an accumulating reverberation. Something forced out, then bouncing back and multiplied…a signal…

"…**opopopopopopopti…"**

Op..ti? It wasn't water dripping. It was the echo of the beginning of his name!

_Mercedes!_

He sent out a searching scan but it was immediately bounced back from multiple directions. It screeched back into his audial receptors. Ow. Well, that explained the echo…

He geared up and headed to the next bridge. Dark flashes again. The signal was less here, but he still held the impression if he only stayed in one spot. He shifted back and forth until he could just…

_/What's going on? What's wrong?/_ Regulus opened the frequency to the others on the flatbed. He brushed against the back of the passenger seat. Optimus tensed, waiting for any flashes from the core. None came.

Optimus glanced at him through the mirror before replying. _/Mercedes…I can…sense her, here/_

He felt Regulus shift his seat and this time, he really did feel the core brush against the back of his passenger seat. Tingling arced through his circuitry at the contact. He drew a breath in anxious anticipation.

_**I need you…**_

…_**whatever it takes.**_

_Guitar strings__**.**_

He shifted a few inches forward. Regulus broke in, unwittingly saving him from spiraling into memory. _/Are you sure?/_

Mercedes. _/She's been force feeding the frequency all this time…the water is carrying the echo/_

Optimus tried to regain the focused flashes. He shifted forward as little as possible with the large tires of the rig. That last shift forward brought the flatbed rolling over the crest of the final bridge and it landed hard against the hitch.

He heard Ironhide slide into what he assumed was Mercedes' protoform at the same time Regulus rolled off the sleeper onto the floor. "Ow!"

**I watched him…differently than I should have.**

**He wants it back. He wants to destroy you.**

He tried to refocus on the flashes, but the shifting knocked him off range of the echoes. He turned off the engine and scanned for anything related to Mercedes, desperate not to get drawn into Megatron's consciousness again. Ironhide interrupted his search.

_/Slag it. What are you doing up there?/_ His tone really set wrong with Optimus. Oh, nothing, just a little trip down memory lane. Hadn't he been listening? Honestly, did Ironhide think he did all of this on purpose?

He heaved steam out his stacks and cycled new air to cool off. Of course he didn't think that. Hey, no insects.

Bumblebee spoke up. _/Sir? Are you still having problems with the core?/_ This was getting them nowhere. Optimus refrained from a reply. How could he possibly answer that? Bumblebee was the only conscious one on the flatbed that hadn't experienced the…problems…the core presented. He'd only try to take it upon himself.

At least that's what Optimus would do. And Bumblebee usually did what he would do.

_/Should we investigate?/ _Whereas Regulus was almost as unpredictable as his mother. Who was stuck down in a cold cave, cut off from everyone who cared about her, relegated to bouncing signals up waterfalls. _/Optimus?/_

They really needed to get to the bottom of the mountain and Ratchet.

He thought about the problem of creating another delay, but then: _/I'm fine. There may be a way in, here. Bumblebee, can you scout out the area?/ _

_/On it/_ He sounded hesitant, but he transformed and stepped down from the flatbed. Optimus watched him with envy drop into the stream off the bridge and wade up to the ice-capped waterfall. Bright red scan markers lit the mossy rock as Bumblebee searched the area for openings.

He checked his rear view mirror. Regulus was leaning against the back of the passenger seat on the floor. "Regulus?"

"I'm fine!" He growled in response.

Optimus didn't know how to respond. He supposed he'd been worrying a bit much, but there was no need for Regulus to snap.

He shifted focus back to Bumblebee. _/Anything?/_

Well, he knew he heard him. His head twitched for a moment to look back, but then kept forward, away.

_/Bumblebee? Have you found anything?/_

He just bent down and scanned a group of small trees.

_/Bumblebee! Report!/_

Still nothing but a head twitch. Alright, maybe this time there was a stiffness to his frame that wasn't there before. That wasn't like him at all. Might he have found something and the frequency not work that far away? Afterall, his own searching frequency bounced back on him earlier. Or maybe he found something bad…

Optimus hoped for the failing frequency.

_/Ironhide, can you try to reach Bumblebee? I think the signal is off/_

_/Yes, sir. Hey Bumblebee!/ _Optimus would have shaken his head. Louder didn't really matter on frequency.

Bumblebee looked up, but in the wrong direction. He climbed the promontory with envious ease. Optimus felt Ironhide hop down from the flatbed.

_/Hey, Runt! Can you hear me?/ _ Again, nothing_. /Ah, slag it/_ Optimus watched Ironhide from a side view mirror cup his hands to his vocals and yell, "Runt! Report!"

They both listened as the yell echoed off the walls of the mountain framing the waterfall and bounced off into the distance. After another non-response from Bumblebee, he turned to look at Optimus' side view mirror. At least Optimus wasn't the only one Bumblebee wasn't responding to. "Shall I go after him, Sir?"

He was just about to say yes, when he felt the frequency open up. "Wait."

Bumblebee stood on a small outcropping near the top of the waterfall. _/I don't find any openings large enough for one of us to fit through. There are small fissures from the water, but that's it/_

Primus! He nearly growled in frustration. _/Alright, come back and load up. I've wasted enough of our time/_

No one responded to that. Optimus felt they were in agreement. At least they were nearly to the bottom of the mountain and the highway.

_/Ironhide?/_

He heard a jostling with the tarp after he climbed back up onto the flatbed. _/Sir?/_

_/Are you alright back there?/_

_/I'm fine/_ Ironhide grumbled something unintelligible and he heard more tarp jostling. _/…do you want me to check on Merc?/_

_/Merc?/_ What was with everyone wanting to shorten names? Then again, coming from Ironhide, that was almost affectionate.

He sounded defensive. _/Yeah, why not?/_ The tone in his voice settled the case for Optimus. It must be Maggie's influence.

_/Alright. Please/_

How much tarp was there? The sound of more plastic folding met with Ironhide's metal on metal movements as he stepped forward. Optimus watched Bumblebee climb down rocks along the waterfall as he waited for Ironhide's response.

_/The lights are on/_ He sounded like he was unsure if that was positive or negative.

Better to err on the side of positive right now. He heaved a sigh out his stacks. _/Well, that's most likely good news/_

Ironhide seemed to reserve his judgement on that. _/…Yeah/_

Bumblebee finally made his way back to the flatbed, but at the last moment, turned and transformed back to vehicle mode in front of Optimus. Bumblebee never even looked at him. The act could have been innocent, they were away from the lab, so why did it feel like rejection? He wondered if it had something to do with what just happened during that last scout.

He started the rig back up and followed without thinking too hard on that.

Bumblebee led the rest of the way down the mountain. He watched the Camaro speed around curves, almost as if he were eager to get to the highway. And why wouldn't he be?

The drive felt like years. He'd forgotten how easily time warped during difficulties. He remembered decades going by so easily during his early years as Prime, but right now, minutes felt longer.

They drove in silence to the end of the asphalt road.

When they reached it, they waited for an approaching vehicle to pass before entering the highway. Bumblebee broke the silence with enthusiasm. _/Hey! There they are!/_

_/Who! Where!/_ Did he see the scientists? Mercedes? Megatron?

_/Ratchet and the others. They're just up ahead/ _

He released a disappointed and frustrated billow of steam out his smokestacks, but instantly perked up as he realized Maggie would be able to link in to Mercedes and they'd finally be able to track her.

He accelerated behind Bumblebee as they turned left onto the now concrete road.

Bumblebee sped up even more. _/Ratchet! Wait up, we're behind you!/_

They were met with a gruff response. _/I see you/_ The chartreuse rescue vehicle pulled to the side of the road and waited.

Once Optimus pulled to a stop, he felt the overwhelming urge to be rid of the flatbed, but couldn't justify doing so for having to transport Mercedes. Ironhide felt no such hesitation. He leapt off the flatbed, folded up, and strode over to Ratchet.

Maggie was the first to hop out of the back doors, loaded down with her laptop bag. She smiled at Ironhide, but kept moving to Optimus.

"Ratchet says I need to hook into Mercedes and home in on her holoform location." She scrambled over to the side of the flatbed and looked around. She eyed Ironhide. "Give me a hand up?" Optimus almost chuckled. Ironhide felt no hesitation at that, either.

He was grateful. He'd wasted enough time caught up in Megatron's memories.

_**Omega?**_

_**Atreus, too.**_

_**You're so naïve, brother.**_

_**Not you not you not you…**_

_/Bumblebee says you've been having difficulties/_

_/What?/_ Ratchet had walked right up to him but he'd been so lost in thoughts… _/It's nothing/ _ He looked ahead. The others were there just a moment ago. He checked his mirrors. But now they were beside him. How long—?

_/Optimus…/_

When did Bumblebee have time? _/Ratchet, it's nothing. I was caught up in a synch with the remnants of Megatron's memory core. I'm fine/_

There was alarm on his face. _/…you were able to synch with a partial memory core?/_

One of the others must have filled him in on the partial bit. _/Not really synch. Somewhat/_

He dropped his head in a slight nod, but swept his optics over the cab. _/Did you get actual…memories?/_

_/Some. They were garbled and disjointed. I couldn't make sense of a lot of it/_

Somehow he just didn't want to share this with Ratchet. A lot of the memories Megatron shared through the core were extremely personal. Some of them, Optimus didn't feel comfortable knowing about. That made him really wonder what Ironhide had seen_. /Have you checked Ironhide? He was in contact, as well/_

_/Yes, I scanned him first. He and Bumblebee both seem rather concerned about you. They said you've stalled out twice this afternoon/ _ Ratchet had time to talk to Bumblebee and scan Ironhide? Wonderful. Somehow, it seemed like this might not have been the first time…

He sighed in frustration. Perhaps he was just tired…

_/Nothing a little recharge won't take care of/_ Ratchet looked at him doubtfully. Why did this feel more like an interrogation than an exam?

Ratchet ran a quick scan. For some reason, it always stung when he did that. _/Well, you check out fine. A little low on resources, but nothing problematic. Oh, wait…/_ He reached out and punched a flap shut. _ /Now you're fine/_

Ow. _/Thanks/_ He couldn't help the lace of sarcasm that slipped into his words. _/Did you wish to check on Regulus and Mercedes while you're at it?/ _

Ratchet didn't respond, but that was just Ratchet. Sometimes he ignored the obvious answer. He climbed up onto the flatbed and Optimus heard the scan. Sam and Mikaela walked closer, along with Ironhide. Bumblebee kept an eye on the flatbed, but remained slightly distant.

"Can I link into her now?" Maggie was smart to have waited. Ratchet would have scanned Maggie whether she wanted it or not if she'd been inside Mercedes.

"Yes, it should be fine." The word 'should' irritated Optimus. The fact that they were completely and continuously out of their depths during this operation was increasingly frustrating. Ratchet stepped down from the flatbed. What else had he seen?

Why did they all have to be in his blind spot where he couldn't see? They shifted a bit closer to the flatbed.

Finally! A view!

Of Ratchet's rear. Blast it. That wasn't helping.

"She's…working. All systems check out fine. Her spark is fairly steady…though it seems to be dimming. That may be a sign that we need to move closer."

He wondered how fast Maggie could link in.

Regulus moved around inside the cab and then stepped out. He cleared his vocals as he stood behind Ratchet.

Ratchet turned and after looking him over, regarded Regulus with wide optics. Regulus carried the core in his hand. Optimus rechecked his mirror. His son's hand was different. It was more claw-like, as Megatron's was—is.

_/Ratchet?/_

_/I see it. I don't know/ _

"Whoa!" Sam scrambled backwards as soon as he saw it and hid behind Mikaela.

"Reggie, what happened to your hand?" Trust Mikaela to be direct. She also sounded a little shaken.

Of course she was. Which of them wasn't? His son now had the hand of a Decepticon.

Regulus looked down awkwardly at the claw holding the core, formerly his right hand. "I guess it's kind of a reaction. I'm not processing it, so it's trying to force me."

Force him? That might have explained the evasions and growling when Optimus asked him if he was okay.

Ratchet seemed to be the only one able to move at the moment. He scanned Regulus from head to toe, saving his hand with the core for the last. After he scanned it, he tentatively reached for that hand, staying well clear of the core, and lifted it for a closer look.

He dropped it and stepped back a respectful distance. Everyone watched him. "Technically, you're fine. You're right, it is a sort of reaction. It seems to be a slow growing virus. If you don't relinquish it soon, you'll need to…process it, or it could get nasty."

"I've got her!" They all looked over at the flatbed where Maggie had yelled from Mercedes. "She's East Northeast of here, less than a half-mile out. We should be able to catch up very quickly."

The group switched focus from the flatbed to Regulus to Optimus' mirrors.

He heard Maggie query innocently: "What."

Optimus felt a myriad of emotions cascade over him.

_Very quickly._

They'd reach her very quickly.

His son had Megatron's hand.

What would they find of Megatron?

Of Jazz?

He felt so guilty forgetting about Jazz.

And now they were close. Time to be leader and snap everyone out of their stasis. Including himself.

"Everyone, figure out who's riding and who's driving! Let's load up and roll out!"

Finally.


	24. Chapter 24: Descent

"Couldn't we just wrap it in a tarp and strap it to the flatbed?" Bumblebee sounded…irritated.

Regulus held the core even closer to his body. "No. I have to hold it. With the spark's power in it, we have no way of knowing what it could do with prolonged contact to the flatbed."

Bumblebee's wasn't the only dubious expression Optimus saw in his side view mirror. Ratchet stepped closer with narrowed optics. "Is there a reason why the core has a physical reaction to you? There seemed to be a feed link when I scanned you."

Regulus turned away and opened the cab door, relegating Optimus' view to the road and mountains beyond. "Nope. That must have been the virus you said you found."

Closing the door effectively stopped any response Ratchet had to that.

"You should treat Ratchet's concern with a bit more respect." Regulus clambered over the driver's seat and stopped in a folded crouch in the center of the cab.

He took a deep breath and sighed. "I know. I'm sorry."

"I'm not the one who's owed an apology."

There was silence as his son sat down on the floorboard and settled his back to the sleeper. "He said he understands."

"Are you sure you wish to ride and not drive?" He peered through the mirror and saw the claw wrapped around the core. He didn't want another memory. But that was ridiculous. Regulus was holding it, acting as buffer. Which only made him feel frustrated and impotent…but he really didn't want another memory.

Regulus looked into the mirror. He knew the answer before he spoke it. "Who could I ask to hold it while I transformed?" Such a young face to have such gravity written across it. "I'll do my best not to touch you with it, Father."

His spark ached at the sincerity in his son's gaze.

He was ashamed of himself. Ashamed that he couldn't control the near-panic that gripped him at the thought of another brush with his brother's private thoughts. Ashamed that he'd not felt strong enough to handle a short drive with such cargo. Moments ticked by as the others assembled.

This…inability to transform…to maintain control, was eating at his logic circuits. He felt so…restrained. But what more could he do?

_**Why did we lose that battle?**_

_**Others wanted us to. We let it happen.**_

They'd had relative peace until he was given control and split it with Megatron. Yet he still couldn't allow himself to think that was the wrong thing to do.

_**We watched it…**_

He'd felt so confident, then. So sure of his decisions. Now it felt like he had blinders on, like a lead horse on a human's carriage.

_**One you didn't watch.**_

One he hadn't watched.

Omega…

Atreus…

It seemed he was destined to fight for his role as Prime no matter what he did. Eons had passed and there had been no progress in the battle against the Decepticons. None. Megatron had been annihilated, uselessly.

Such intrigues. So many mind-games. To what purpose? What use was it to continue fighting? Omega had always been there, always behind everything. Even, apparently, before he was Omega Six.

For he'd also been Optimus' predecessor, Atreus.

He flared the rig's engine to life, pushing it into a higher gear than necessary. He wanted that strain, that reminder that he still had some control over his actions. He corrected the gear and pulled forward, following Bumblebee at a cautious distance. The dirt off-road was difficult to maintain grip, but he was careful shifting. It was an easy, mindless thing to do.

Unlike most of his career as Prime.

But the Matrix had selected him. He hadn't asked for it.

Did it really matter, though? Now?

Of course he'd not watched Atreus. Atreus was dead. It would take a reformatting to bring back a critical failure of such proportions, and that was strictly forbidden by Cybertronian Law. But Megatron said he wasn't dead. And then said Omega had once ruled before. There was no other explanation, Atreus must be Omega.

But that was _forbidden_.

It was the only way to protect themselves. Either that, or let loose the instability of a reformatted hard drive.

They couldn't afford instability in a leader. He'd thought he'd been saving them all from that when he kept the Matrix instead of allowing Megatron to petition for it.

"_**Megatron, even if I could, I'm not sure I want to give it up now…This decision was made for a reason, and I think it chose me for a reason." **_

Just look at what that instability had done to Omega. What if…what if this instability could happen without a reformatting?

To Megatron, his brother.

_**No thinking…no feeling…no hating Optimus…but still my faithful pain.**_

Millions of years of war, built upon one transformer's whim. Why had Omega chosen Megatron?

_**Starscream was the only one…he'd been subjected to it the longest. **_

He found a deep respect for Starscream if he'd had to deal with such manipulation for so long. Not only from his father, but from his oldest friend.

He remembered when they were all at the Academy. The two were inseparable. It wasn't until Megatron spent a break at Starscream's residence that their friendship became…strained. It was almost as if something changed them that weekend…

Optimus stole another look at Regulus. He'd like to think that these past few days wouldn't have a lasting effect on his growth as a Transformer, but that was a feeble hope at best.

His only consolation was that somehow, for some reason, the Powers That Be had blessed Regulus with the tools necessary to take on this early challenge.

At least he wasn't hiding the core anymore. Optimus could see clearly that his son was struggling every moment to repress Megatron's invasion. Optimus worried at how much longer Regulus could hold it off.

He thought back over the previous days, remembering Mercedes' insightful question. _"So I can bring him back to you…Do you really want that?"_

He also remembered his reply. _"If I could have my brother back, I would give anything. But he has not been my brother for thousands of years."_

"_**He's not your brother anymore, Megatron."**_

The Law. Was it wrong to have Mercedes bring Megatron back?

"_You have failed her."_

It certainly seemed as though he had. He remembered his response to the Prophetess with cynicism.

"_I have done nothing but protect and defend those in my care for eons. I have never left someone else to fight in my place."_

Except one. That thought had haunted him over millennia.

"_You let her stand alone, just like Elita."_

Optimus still heard Elita's last words, echoing from a distant memory.

"_Optimus, GO! You have to survive with the Matrix!"_

All this time, he'd thought Omega had been avenging her death. How gullible he'd been. What else had he missed? What else had he so easily believed?

He looked back at Regulus. He stared out the windshield, avoiding the mirror. Optimus was worried, and not only for his son's mental stability. What about the physical strain?

What did that mean for restoring the core to his brother's body? If that was even still possible? Ethical?

Suddenly, Regulus leapt forward in the cab and stopped just shy of slamming the core against his dashboard. "Optimus, look out!"

What? "Gah!" The land just…ended…about fifty feet ahead. "Hang on!" He tried to stop, but the loose, dry dirt slid like water under his tires. He turned hard right at the last moment to avoid knocking Bumblebee over the edge of a cliff that appeared out of nowhere.

Instinct had him trying to transform, but the flatbed held tight to the hitch and kept him in vehicle mode. He still dropped a tire off the edge. He tried reversing and found he was stuck. All his power was hanging useless in the air at a strange triangle to the ground.

"Wait, Ironhide!" He felt the rig shift a few feet more over the edge as the heavy mech rolled off the flatbed. Optimus found himself in the precarious position of looking almost directly down a cliff twice the height he was, standing.

Regulus landed hard against the gear box with a loud _thunk._

"_Come." The black and red mech beckoned with a shining claw, a smile hinting at the corner of his mouth._

_He trembled. Inwardly, of course. It would never do to allow his infatuation to show to such a great leader, especially since he now knew his secret. He felt honored that Omega had entrusted him. Who was he to balk now that all he wanted was for him to step a little closer?_

_So he did, making sure his steps were not as hesitant as he would naturally wish. As Optimus would. It was nice to be the only one to know something, for a change. He crossed the room at a controlled, confident pace—mimicking Optimus on purpose—stopping a few feet before Omega._

Megatron had thought he was confident? If he'd only known.

_Those red optics glinted up at him with some quiet emotion, something he didn't know, and came level with his own as Omega stood from his seat. Megatron blinked his blue optics. The sudden nearness surprised him with a crackle of energy across his circuitry._

"_Can I trust you with this?" Omega reached the short distance between them and landed a claw heavily on his shoulder, compelling him to maintain eye contact. It seemed like some sort of test._

_If he only knew…_

_Megatron nodded firmly, once._

_Omega leaned in further, closer, raised his thumb claw from around his throat up to his chin. And pressed advantage._

_His optics narrowed, watching. Megatron just stared back into those deep red optics._

_A feeder line popped from the splintering pressure and leaked fluid over Omega's claw, down his own throat and chest plates. _

Optimus wanted to hit him. How dare he?

_He cycled air a bit faster, but soon quietened. He was riveted. Somehow it seemed that looking away would be more painful…or lead to more pain. He wasn't sure which was more important at that moment. He just knew that something felt…_

What?

_Omega gave him one of his precious few smiles. He knew from Starscream that his father rarely exhibited emotion, so what made him react now? He flickered his optics from one red orb to another._

"_You like this, don't you?"_

_His tone was discovery, accusation. His smile dropped into a breathing shudder as he watched the energon flow in small tributaries over them both. _

_Could he tell? Did he know his own secret? He was tensed near to breaking from holding still, from restraining his urge to lean into the point of his thumb._

_He didn't quite know what this feeling was. He watched Omega stare hungrily at the blue fluid now visible in his periphery. Hunger. Yes, that was right. The small amount of pain he felt at the puncture wound gave way to a curious knowledge._

_Could he possibly feel it too? Omega seemed almost lost, staring at the leaking energon. This was something useful. Something that Omega wanted…from him. Suddenly, he didn't feel so awkward anymore._

_How could he tell if he was right? Perhaps by simply answering the question. He swallowed, flexing his throat on purpose and reaffirming his gaze. "Yes." _

_He saw the exact moment when his answer registered. Desire and something else flooded the black and red face. Omega smiled again. He lifted his thumb to his mouth and licked the energon clean. He looked from his clean claw to the other's still-soiled throat._

_Megatron felt the first stirrings of something good. Something that was his and his alone. Something that would finally let him be more than just…_

_He felt…power. He shivered. He smiled._

_Omega leaned in to his throat, tipping his head back with the same thumb, wrapping the claw delicately around his neck._

_His breathing cycled faster in anticipation of whatever would come next._

_The door opened._

"One, Two, Three, Heave!"

Optimus was pulled back up the cliff just as he felt the embankment give way.

It took him a moment to remember where he was, who he was. That last peek into his brother's private life was…unnerving. He had a distinct impression of a much older Megatron sitting back and relishing that memory. Who had been manipulating whom? All the memories he'd had during the drive down the mountain had led him to think of Megatron as a sort of victim. But now it all seemed different. Who was the true predator? Was it truly prey if they enjoyed it too?

He looked out across the valley, trying to make sense of it all. The scene reminded him of a large crater on one of the many planets he'd visited in his search for the All-Spark. While Megatron had been frozen on Earth.

_**Earth…the ice…find a hole to fall into…**_

_**It's safe. He can't have it if they don't know where I am. **_

What caused the change in Megatron? If he'd really been that power hungry, then what changed him once he was on Earth? What changed him back once he awakened?

_**The noise of a steel whip cracking woke him from a sated recharge. It sliced the plating down his upper arm with a devastatingly beautiful efficiency. The pain… it was delicious.**_

"Optimus? Are you alright?" Ratchet's piercing laser scan broke into his thoughts.

He shook off that last image willingly. Back to the problem at hand. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you. All of you." He heard various grunts and murmurs in assent from the group.

Ratchet spoke once more. "Is Regulus okay in there?"

He rolled down the passenger window and stuck his head out. "I'm fine, don't worry about me." Optimus didn't want to think what would have happened to Regulus had he been able to transform earlier. These constant distractions were making him careless…

Better to focus on their current situation. "What is this?"

"A Mesa. Is Maggie sure of the coordinates?" Bumblebee turned to Ironhide. They all looked at Maggie, still trapped inside Mercedes, looking rather pale. Ironhide cursed in Cybertronian and flared his holoform to life on the flatbed. He opened the car door and she spilled out and up into his arms.

"D-don't do that again."

She was obviously petrified. Optimus felt horrible. "Maggie, I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"Not you. I know you're having problems. I meant Ironhide. You left me in that car and just rolled off the back." She shuddered and huddled closer.

What was that supposed to mean, _having problems_? Only Regulus or Ironhide could have…Ironhide, of course. It worried him that everyone might think of him as…unstable.

Ironhide's holoform murmured something in Maggie's ear and walked her over to his waiting protoform, where he blinked out and lifted her down to the ground.

She cuddled up to Ironhide's shin, then turned to face the group with a deep breath, keeping her back against the mech. "It's the right path. In fact…there it is." She pointed to something domed and light-colored off in the distance, an odd juxtaposition to the wind-worn buttes and mesas.

Optimus looked around in frustration. The cliff arced out in a crescent and there was no better way down than here. There was no way to drive forward. How was he to get Mercedes down there?

"Bumblebee? Do you think you can test the climb?" He hesitated, but nodded. Bumblebee kept eyeing Optimus, like he had something to say. Normally, he would approach him about whatever it was, but this time he was wary of finding out.

Bumblebee waited a moment longer, transformed and climbed over the edge. Optimus pulled up close so he could watch his progress. Ironhide stood next to him, watching the scout's descent with Maggie still stuck to his leg. He kneeled down closer to her.

"Do we have any rope long enough? We could repel down." Mikaela's voice sounded eager. He could only imagine how the two youths must feel. They'd been even less active than he, today.

Ironhide stood up from his kneel and gently brushed a finger across Maggie's hair as he walked to the flatbed. He grabbed the rope they'd used to tie him down under the tarp and coiled it up, heading back for the cliff.

Below, Bumblebee had just reached the bottom.

/It's not that far. You could probably unhook the trailer and carry Mercedes down/

/Alright/

"Hey Runt!"

"What!"

"Catch this!" Ironhide had tied off one end of the rope to the flatbed and tossed the other end down to Bumblebee.

They all watched it arc and twirl down to slap Bumblebee in the face.

"Ow! Slaggit!"

Ironhide giggled.

Optimus strained his mirror to tilt around and look at Ironhide. His tough-as-pit, rather shoot-it-than-talk-to-it Weapons Specialist had actually giggled.

Maggie peeked around Ironhide's leg at the sound of Optimus' mirror swiveling. "Do you think we should go ahead and unhitch the flatbed?"

Ironhide looked over. "Yeah, probably. Hey, kids, give me a hand with unhooking Optimus."

That sounded like heaven. "Yes, please, for Primus' sake get this thing off of me."

Regulus took his cue and climbed down from the rig. He stood a bit to the side while he watched the three unhook and lift off the trailer. Optimus hoped he'd not taken that last comment personally. He really just wanted to stand up.

Ironhide grunted as he dropped the weight of the flatbed. "Ratchet, help me get Mercedes down."

Optimus let out a groan of relief and immediately transformed. There was a bit of grinding where some sand still stuck, but otherwise…

Ah, that felt good.

He looked around, enjoying the full three hundred and sixty degrees of turn. Ratchet and Ironhide had finished laying Mercedes on the ground and walked up beside him near the cliff.

"Hey, Ironhide, you throw like a femme!" Optimus turned back to look down at Bumblebee just in time to watch the rope fly back up with a bright blue something tied to the end and wrap around one of his hip-tires. "Try throwing that one back!"

He had just realized what Bumblebee must have thought he'd snagged when _boom!_ He landed on his aft with a tug.

"What the—"

Sam stood up from the aftershock and ran to the edge. "Bee, what the hell are you doing? You just dropped Optimus!"

Silence followed until Ironhide peered down over Sam to smirk at Bumblebee. "What? Oh no. Oh slaggit, I'm so sorry! Optimus, are you okay? I'm sorry! I was aiming for Ironhide!"

Optimus recovered and sat up with a head shake, pulling the rope with its bright tail out from around his hip.

He dangled Maggie's Australian flag panties from their knot at the end of the rope and replied, "I can see that."

Maggie leaned in and smacked Ironhide on the ankle, whispering furiously at him, "How did Bumblebee get those?"

This ought to be an interesting answer.

"Um…Windshear?"

Even Optimus had to laugh at that one.

When the laughter died down, Optimus stood up and went to hand the rope to Ironhide…looked at Maggie…and once he saw her bright embarrassment, decided it was better in Ironhide's hands anyway.

"Set it up so they can repel down if they wish." Ironhide nodded and went to do so, but Optimus looked down at the three humans. "Or would you like us to carry you down?"

Sam blanched and Mikaela couldn't get past a stutter. Maggie answered for them all, "I, uh…no, that's okay, Optimus, we'll repel."

He nodded and turned away, looking back out over the drop. Of course they would. There was no telling what they thought about being carried by Optimus. He'd dropped them, before, under that bridge when Sector Seven had been in pursuit. Maybe they just didn't want to hurt his feelings by refusing help from the others.

Or maybe they were just a little stir-crazy, like him.

He watched the others make their way down and prepared to carry Mercedes. It was agreed that it would be too dangerous for anyone smaller to try to take her down and attempting tandem had been out of the question. He'd just slide down and hope for the best, with Mercedes clutched at his chest.

Like her soft little toy in that dark room she'd been trapped in as a child.

The irony was not lost on him.

He made it to the bottom of the cliff without any major problems, but couldn't think of any safe way to carry Mercedes and have Maggie inside, tracking.

Bumblebee picked up the kids, and Ironhide carried Maggie. Ratchet and Regulus were a bit behind Optimus, transmitting silently, no doubt, so he wouldn't worry.

He worried anyway.

A few more silent moments and he felt an odd tugging where he touched Mercedes at his chest.

Sam pointed to the light colored dome up ahead. "What is that?"

Maggie responded. "According to Google, that's a sinkhole at the end of the cave system. I say it's the test site."

Optimus thought that was a pretty good assumption, considering it didn't look anything like a sinkhole.

The tugging sensation felt…magnetic. It increased a bit with each step forward. He looked at the dome. Was there something in there causing this? Or was it, hope of all hopes, Mercedes?

He passed the others and quickened his pace, letting the tugging sensation pull him on a meandering path towards the dome. Then, about thirty feet away, the pull went from forward to down. He looked at the dirt, then back to the dome. He stepped towards the dome and felt a pull backwards.

Not the dome, specifically.

He carefully placed Mercedes on the ground beside him and knelt with his face to the ground.

"Optimus? What are you doing?"

"Shh. I think I feel her."

The others walked around him to stand closer to the dome. He turned his head to listen to the ground, watching Bumblebee make a circuit around the foreign structure.

"No entrance or exit. Seems pretty air-tight."

Optimus closed his optics to listen more intently. He felt…a faint…little…There! He unsheathed his wrist-blade and struck it into the dirt, forcing an energy pulse at the same time he covered the blast with his other hand. He dug out the sediment and listened again.

Yes! Yes, they were close! It was almost as if he could hear her!

He felt her, then. Like a spark-beat, like static over his dermal plating.

He inched forward and felt the gravel scrape along his face guard like an appropriate punishment. He clutched the dirt in his hands, as if it could bring her closer.

Perhaps it might.

He shot his blade into the dirt again, another controlled burst. He dug away the sediment again and listened.

"Optimus?" What? Wait, that wasn't her voice. He listened closer. Her signal was stronger.

"Optimus…"

"Wait." He repeated the burst-and-dig. He didn't even care that dirt was filling the joints in his hands. She was there, he could feel it.

"Optimus, you should—"

"She's here, Ratchet." A dim, rumbling sound echoed off somewhere.

"Okay, but you should look over here."

His tone made him look up. Everyone was standing, staring at the now translucent dome. No, they weren't staring at the dome. They were staring at whatever was inside. He sat up to a kneel. What did they see? He was suddenly afraid of looking. Ironhide turned away and caught Optimus' curious gaze with a warning, desperate look.

He watched with anxiety. Bumblebee turned to Optimus with confusion and revulsion written all over his features. Ratchet just stared, still, like a small mammal trapped. Sam and Mikaela were sitting on Bumblebee's shoulders, watching Maggie pace back and forth.

Regulus was observing everything. In some ways, in that moment, he reminded Optimus of Megatron. He had a way of standing back and watching sometimes that would infuriate Optimus. It almost always precipitated a brilliant and blinding strike, be it verbal or physical.

He watched his son watch them all like Megatron and was…afraid.

But fear had no place in a Prime's spark, so he stood up and let the dirt sift between his fingers. He placed one foot in front of the other and slowly approached the dome.

Bumblebee stepped back to let him see.

The previous vague rumbling grew louder very quickly and then the very earth beneath his feet gave way.

The last thing he saw inside the dome was Megatron's face roll towards him, then everything fell. Blue light shot up from underneath and the earthquake shattered the dome along with the surrounding walls.

Optimus waited for the rumbling to pass, then checked his systems. Everything seemed fine, so he looked around for the others. "Is everyone okay?"

Ratchet responded for them all. "I think it's safe to say this is the strangest thing that's ever happened to me. But we're all fine."

That was a relief. What would cause such a thing?

Oh.

Oh, no.

Oh Primus. Please NO.

He scrambled for purchase on the unstable, pilled ground and looked towards the dome.

The worst of the damage had been done right there, right underneath him.

Right where Mercedes had been.

"No!"

He lunged forward, only to be held back sharply by a strong hand. He looked back. "Regulus?"

"Wait. Let me go in first."

"What? Why?"

He looked pointedly at the large platform where…Megatron. Optimus' breath hitched. They'd performed some kind of surgery…some sort of…melding…of Jazz's parts to Megatron's body.

And little pieces of Jazz decorated another large platform like so much broken glass.

"What have they done?"

Regulus' response was interrupted by Bumblebee's shout: "Where is she?!" He jumped over a pile of debris and one of the dome's ceiling joists to land in front of one of the stunned humans staring at them…

"I know you found her, where is she?"

That was Mercedes' father…wait, found her? How did he know that? "Bumblebee?"

He did a half turn back to Optimus with a look of regret, but looked back down and leaned over to intimidate the small man. "What did you do with her?"

The little man fainted, but another, younger man answered for him. "He locked her in one of the observation rooms…in the cave."

Locked?

Bumblebee looked back at Optimus.

How had he known?

He stepped towards him and Bumblebee rushed up. "I'm sorry, I didn't want you to worry any more that you already were. I saw her visual feed when I was up on the waterfall and Ironhide said…"

He broke off, staring at Optimus, wary.

"Ironhide?" He felt dizzy. They'd known she was discovered and didn't tell him. He looked to Ratchet, still up on the higher pile of debris.

He wouldn't meet his optics.

What…

Mercedes was locked…in an imploded cave…that was probably his fault…

He stumbled backwards and cycled air faster through his intakes. He looked to the humans, standing like little statues around his brother…

Or whatever they'd made of him. There was no way he could come back now. Not with those cobbled remains…

Remains…

His brother…

Mercedes…

They all knew she'd been caught...

Primus! She'd been buried!

His brother and his best friend had been horrifically defiled and now his…his love…Mercedes…

He looked wildly around, trying to find an anchor…something to hold onto…

He saw her car, sitting where he'd left it, though at an odd angle with the rocks jutting up underneath it.

Mercedes…

All his fault…

He was close to hyperventilating when he felt the red filter down and snap over his vision.

They'd taken his brother away from him forever, but he could still get to Mercedes.

With a great and loud yell he started tearing into the rocks. Heedless of what was behind him, he tossed boulders over his shoulder, shoving gravel aside with quick scoops of his hands. He heard explosions behind him and hoped it was a boulder landing on one of the scientists, quickly squelching any difficulty he had with thinking that.

All that mattered was getting Mercedes out. She needed out. He could still save her. He needed to get to her. Now.

He growled as a pile of rocks and gravel slid into the place of what he'd just cleared. He pushed and pulled and yanked and tossed harder and harder until energon glowed on the debris in front of him.

He stopped, shocked, terrified it was hers…then he saw his own hands. They were the culprits. He renewed his efforts.

He couldn't lose anyone else.

Not now.

Not again.

He'd lost them all. He'd failed her.

Eons of the deaths he'd caused echoed through his servers.

She was all alone and he couldn't…

He vaguely heard yelling behind him, but he ignored it, releasing a frustrated howl. He kicked rocks aside when his hands stopped working. Warning lights screamed in his head that he needed to recharge soon. He felt so tired.

Tired?

NO! He'd not leave her! He'd never leave her! He balled his hands into fists and started pounding the rocks into dust, then scooping the sediment aside, grunting with each new contact of dirt to his wounds. He felt fluid leak out of his optics. Tears. They blurred his vision, but he kept kicking, digging, hitting…

Crying.

"Optimus, you have to stop."

"No! Mercedes is in there! I have to get her!"

"She's not there, Optimus." Something pulled him back from the hole he'd just created at the top of the mound.

"Yes she is, she's not gone yet. I can feel her." He pushed away from the hands pulling at him and pulled at another rock. Almost…if he could just make an opening big enough…

"Optimus!" Another pull back. After leaving him and Mercedes in the dark, did they honestly think he'd just…

Never! "Leave me alone or help! I'm not leaving her!"

He then felt the oddest sensation of being bodily lifted from the ground and dangled from the waist. There was only one mech large enough to do that…

But…

"M-m-Megatron?" He fought around in the iron grasp around his waist to get a look at his captor.

"Somewhat." Jazz? That was jazz's voice coming from his brother's body. Or was this a hallucination? Yes. A rock had fallen on him and cracked his processors. Otherwise, how was he standing, well, dangling there, talking to Jazz in Megatron's body? "Are you finished? Cause your chick is fine. She'd over there bein scanned by Ratchet."

He looked from the curious…beauty…of the mesh of Jazz and Megatron to where he'd last seen Mercedes in vehicle mode.

She was…

She was…

Nodding at Ratchet.

She looked at Optimus and smiled.

It was the last thing he saw before offlining.


	25. Chapter 25: Climb

_He was on Cybertron. Walking through the Decepticon base with his cabinet which at the time had only consisted of Jazz and Ironhide. They flanked his back as he led them to their meeting with Megatron, now the leader of the newly formed Decepticon faction._

_They marched down the dim, metal hallway, gazes ahead, but focus all around. There were a surprising many who had sided with the Decepticon camp. Megatron's motto was etched into the metal above the doorway ahead. Peace through Tyranny._

_He scoffed. Who'd ever heard of such a thing? How could they possibly think it would work?_

_They arrived at the steel doors. Barricade blocked the way. "State your purpose."_

"_I have a meeting with Megatron."_

_He looked to Jazz and Ironhide. "You do. They don't."_

"_It is a political accord meeting. They are part of my cabinet. They belong in the meeting."_

"_Megatron said…" Optimus didn't have time for this. He needed to be somewhere else, for something urgent…He couldn't remember what that was…  
_

"_Regardless, they're going in." He pushed Barricade aside and the doors open. Starscream was leaning over Megatron's shoulder, pointing at something on a tablet on the table in front of them._

_They both looked up at the intrusion. "I see you bullied your way in with those two buffoons despite my request that they remain outside." He stood up and nodded to Barricade, who closed the doors but stayed outside. "No matter. I'll just call in more of my own..advisors." He looked at Starscream and the seeker left to do Megatron's bidding. "Please, be seated."_

_They settled at the table uneasily. Ironhide didn't sit at all, but rather, opted to stand against the wall behind them. Megatron eyed him, but looked to Optimus in response. "I hadn't thought he would go to your side." Neither did Optimus, but he was thankful for it._

_Starscream returned with two others. One looked familiar, but one did not. The unfamiliar one sat down across from Optimus. The other wandered off and stood near the doors._

_The mech stared him down, arrogantly. He turned back to his brother. "You called the meeting Megatron. We've tried this before to no avail."_

"_Yes, I did and we have, but that's not why we're here."_

_Optimus didn't like mind games. They never led anywhere productive. "Then why are we here?"_

"_I brought you here to tell you that you cannot bring me back." He leaned back in his seat with a smirk._

"_I'm sorry? You made that clear the last time we spoke. I believe the words 'when the pit no longer burns with slag' were used."_

_Megatron shook his head and shared a glinting glance with Starscream. "Still stuck in the past." He looked back at Optimus with intense focus. "No, I mean now. Right now. I can't be brought back, Optimus. I don't want to be…"_

_He looked around, confused. Why was Megatron repeating himself? This memory wasn't replaying itself the way he remembered. _

_When did Ratchet get here? He was leaning against the wall next to Ironhide. No matter. He turned back to Megatron. "I don't understand."_

"_You wouldn't. You're still trying to be everything to everyone. You don't need me, Optimus. You never did. That's why I hated you for so long."_

"_What?" This was definitely not the way he remembered this meeting progressing._

"_You know what I'm talking about. It's all here, in your head. You don't need me at all. You have everything you need to know right here. Just think on that."_

_Megatron smiled. "In the meantime, I've been waiting a long time to do this." He leaned forward in his chair and reared his hand back for a slap. Optimus watched it in slow motion arc towards his face…_

He came online with a loud crack. Megatron? There was nothing but sky overhead.

Earth.

"No! _You_ don't get to _touch _him!" Another slap, but not to Optimus. He turned his head to the voice's origin. It sounded like Mercedes, but why did it sound like she was so far away?

Then it got closer. Very much closer. He tried to focus his optics on the small face in front of him. "Oh, Thank God. We couldn't wake you up. Are you okay?"

He couldn't remember feeling this disoriented before. He let his optics swerve around his periphery before settling back on Mercedes. "Did you slap me?" It certainly seemed as if she'd slapped her father.

She looked a bit sheepish. "Yes." He slumped back down in relief. But wait, had she been in contact with the core? Had she been channeling Megatron? He looked at both of her hands, twisting fitfully in her lap as she knelt next to his head. Mercifully empty. She looked so small… "It was all I could think of. Nothing Ratchet did was working."

He looked to his Chief Medical Officer. For the first time in days, Ratchet held his gaze, questioning, searching. He seemed ready to step forward.

"Why…?"

Mercedes looked over her shoulder at Ratchet, then back. "He said it wasn't good that you'd basically fainted. That and you kept mumbling his name—"

He latched his attention to Mercedes' face. "Whose name?"

"Ratchet's." She blinked, confused. "Only you kept forgetting the 'R'." She had no idea what she had just said, but continued blithely. "I just told him you were dreaming."

He did a search for the foreign term. Was that what he just had? A dream? But…"Transformers don't dream…"

She looked confused. "Well, it certainly looked like it. Why wouldn't you dream?"

Ratchet stepped a bit closer. "According to my findings, it would not be impossible for us to dream, Optimus. It's a mechanism for coping with stressors, among other things."

He rolled his head back to face up into the cloudy sky. Why now? Were things really so complicated that he couldn't logic his way through them?

Yes. Yes, they were. He blinked with a sigh and tried to think through what the dream had attempted to convey. He blinked again. Why couldn't he remember what was so clear a moment ago?

Fine. Might as well move on. "Ironhide."

That mech tentatively stepped forward and leaned over Mercedes into Optimus' field of vision. "Yes, Optimus?"

Slag it, he hated feeling like this. Like some kind of invalid to be coddled. He sat up abruptly, making sure not to run into Mercedes. He looked back up to Ironhide. "Status report."

"Sir?"

Did he have to repeat himself? "Give me a status report, Ironhide." He started to stand and Mercedes stood up, but stayed nearby. She was amazingly small.

Ironhide snapped to attention. "Sir. The dome is basically destroyed. We've recovered the…parts…and have the scientists rounded up and under our surveillance. No one has been allowed to leave the perimeter we've set up."

He nodded for him to go on.

"None of us suffered any injuries and everything seems to be in order…except…"

He looked up from the ground where his focus had trailed. "Except?"

"Megatron—er—Jazz…he's not stable and keeps…offlining."

Optimus folded his arms and hung his head in his hand, bracketing his face with thumb and forefinger. He sighed, dropped his hands to his hip-tires, and looked around.

Things didn't look good. Ratchet, Ironhide and Mercedes were focused on him, Bumblebee was standing guard over the scientists—Dr. Baker now included—and Regulus was…

Doing something to Megatron's body, which was lying prone on the ground. If anything, he was at least curious, so he walked over to them. Regulus looked up. "I—can't…"

He didn't want to process the myriad of emotions crossing Regulus' face. He held up his hand to quieten the smaller black and flame mech. Regulus averted his gaze from Optimus and stepped away from Megatron's body.

Primus, he would _not_ feel guilty for this. Part of this was their fault. If he'd known Mercedes had been _trapped_ underground, he'd never have done…whatever it was that caused the quake. They'd almost killed her.

He still couldn't understand how she got out.

He narrowed his apertures and focused in on the welded parts of Jazz to Megatron. It was a surprisingly beautiful detail, like they'd cared. He scoffed. As if they cared.

This was just another experiment to them. Why would they coin and swirl the weld line like an artist? He bent closer to examine the place where they'd transplanted Jazz' memory core. It was shining silver amongst dirty grey steel.

"Op—op—timus…"

What? His optics flew to the still face of his brother. His optics were online…and…blue. Staring straight into his own. He couldn't think of what to say. Was this Megatron or Jazz speaking? Whichever he was, he labored for air as though he'd been mortally wounded.

"Sir…he won't—won't let me offline until I tell you something…" Jazz. He was in obvious pain. Optimus knelt down beside him, reaching for his hand to hold in both his own.

He was afraid of this. He couldn't shake the feeling of foreboding the dream left him. "Easy, friend. What is it?"

"The Matrix. Omega doesn't want you, he wants the Matrix. He says…he says it's the only way he can remember who he was before…the first time…? Optimus I don't know what he means. He's not telling me." Jazz struggled with something, the body flailing a bit, trying to take commands from two masters.

"Shh. Shhh, Jazz, it's alright. It's okay." His first lieutenant sagged back to the ground in exhaustion. After a moment of silence, he looked back at Optimus. "He still won't let me offline."

"Why are you trying to?"

"Because…because it's not right. I'm not stable like this. It's both of us in here, fighting…" He closed his optics in a groan.

He tightened his grip, bringing his attention back. "But?"

"He's not all here. I get bits and pieces, like he's been split…"

Regulus spoke from behind. "I've been trying to see if he needs the core. I don't think Megatron's body can fully offline without the right one, and Jazz's core is fighting the programming." Optimus looked over his shoulder at Regulus. "Ratchet says it will kill them both to do what they want."

He looked back to his friend. "Jazz, can't you reach an accord? Why do you have to offline?"

Jazz shook Megatron's head with two sharp shakes. "We only wanted to see you once more. I had to stop you from tearing your hands off and _he_ wanted to tell you about Omega. Wait—He says to make sure to tell you that Omega's greatest weakness is pow—"

_KaTHOOM!_

Optimus was thrown backwards by…a plasma blast? He searched around the perimeter, looking for suspects.

He looked back at the point of impact for trajectory. The sight was horrific. His head. Megatron's head. Jazz…it was obliterated from the plasma charge. Nothing was left but a mass of cauterized energon lines and melted metal.

Ironhide yelled from his position, protecting their humans. "Optimus! It's Starscream!"

Starscream had done this to Megatron? Starscream was known for his accuracy. He'd never take a shot without knowing full well exactly where and what he'd hit.

Starscream!?

How…how…how _dare_ he!

He heard the tell-tale whine of jet engines and felt boiling rage flow through his circuits. He didn't think, he just whipped around with his rifle drawn and aimed for the seeker taking off from behind the dome wreckage.

The blast was a bit more than was necessary, but his aim was true and the answering crash of an F22 disguise felt more than a little satisfying.

Why hadn't the others done that? Why had they waited? Why had they let that misbegotten slag shoot Megatron…Jazz? He shook his head. Either. He looked around the encampment and withdrew his rifle, balling that hand into a fist. It still hurt from digging earlier.

When he'd thought…

"If any of you are still loyal to me, you'd better assign someone to go pick up that piece of slag and drag him back here." Even as he said it, he knew it wasn't completely fair, but it had been said and now he felt the overwhelming urge to be alone.

Optimus looked around. There was an undamaged cave opening, further east than the way they'd come. He started towards it.

Bumblebee called from behind. "Optimus?"

"Leave me alone."

"But sir, what about—?"

"Not now."

Ratchet chimed in. "We need to—"

"Primus! What's a mech got to do to get a little time to think around here! I'll be right back, just leave me alone for minute! Besides, you're all apparently capable of making decisions _without_ me."

With that parting shot, he didn't even look back, just kept his focus on the dark hole in the wall ahead of him. Thunder rolled off in the distance and a slight wind brushed against his sensors. It felt…good. The rain began to hit with fat drops on the parched ground.

As soon as he stepped two of his standard paces into the cave, it grew almost completely dark. He turned on his headlights and the stone glittered all around him. He mindlessly followed the tunnel down. At a few points, he had to stoop a bit, but touching the sparkling minerals was somehow soothing. The thunder vaguely echoed through the chambers and he continued walking…deeper and deeper.

He heard water ahead. For such a dry climate, they'd come across a lot of water lately. The air was humid and little droplets of minerals tapped and trickled against his armor. The water was getting louder, more like a rushing sound now.

It drew him. He felt like he had to find the source of this…noise. The cave split in front of him. Which way? The air was cooler and more humid from the right, so there he followed.

The small tunnel was cramped for his larger size, so he folded down. He heard rocks skitter behind him and he turned to look.

Nothing.

He resumed his descent into the cave. The tunnel's mouth yawned up ahead into blackness. What would he find? Was the rushing noise perhaps not water, but an abyss? Someplace dark and deep to forget everything…

He stopped and leaned hard against the crystalline wall. He thought back over the eons of time that he'd spent with each of his team.

Ironhide. Always steadfast, never ceasing in drive or energy. His greatest fear was to watch a conflict unfold without the slightest ability to stop or help. He'd seen that a few times over in the past few hours, now that Optimus stopped to think about it. He'd do anything…anything to keep that from happening. He'd been truly upset that he couldn't take the burden of Megatron's memory core off of Optimus. _What did that make him think of me?_

All he'd been doing was trying to protect Optimus.

Bumblebee surprised him. Keeping something that important from him wasn't in his character.

He thought back to what Bumblebee had said yesterday morning when asked what he'd seen in the visions.

"_**I saw…one of us…fall. I would end my spark before I would let that happen."**_

That thought made him shudder. Had he seen Optimus fall? That would explain so much…

And Ratchet. What was he missing about Ratchet? Something was there, right on the tip of memory…something Megatron had tried to tell him in his dream…

Still nothing. With a sigh, he pushed off and stepped to the edge of the abyss. It was tempting. The noise was so loud it almost drowned out any thought.

So tempting.

He thought of Mercedes. Her laughter. Her bravery. She was so young…millions of years his junior. The age difference wasn't a burden. In fact, it gelled in place the importance of her acceptance of…so much.

He turned his lights from the wall in front of him, down to view the drop. Only ten feet or so.

He folded up and sat down, allowing his lights to illuminate the rest of the cave to his right.

The sight was breathtaking.

Water rushed down in torrents from a large hole in the ground above. Very high above. He'd not realized he'd gone down that far. He stood up and ventured closer to the waterfall.

It was tiered, with pools of water gathering in the lips of stone, cascading down into a growing lake in the basin.

Light shimmered inside the curtain of water, only letting a small amount of light to filter through. His headlights gleamed off the running water and wet crystalline stones brilliantly.

He could do nothing but move forward. It pulled him. He waded into the basin, towards the nearest outcropping. He wanted to climb it. The water swirled around his ankles, then shin guards, knees, thighs… He was surprised at how deep it was. And cold.

It felt good.

He reached the rocky ledge and lifted up onto it. The water looked so inviting.

"Optimus?"

No. No, not now. Not yet.

He turned to the entrance of his sanctuary and waited to see if they'd found him.

Regulus, alone, stepped down into the room, looking around as he approached the small lake. He spotted him on the lower waterfall, not quite under the spray…as he'd like to be…

Regulus stopped at the edge of the water and stared at Optimus. He stood from his crouch and let the smaller water spray bounce off his armor.

Regulus looked a bit…afraid…

The others he could almost understand making decisions without him. Almost. But Regulus…

He was his son.

He was only a few days old.

He was supposed to follow _his_ command.

Optimus leapt off the outcropping and landed close to the edge of the pool, where the water was only a few feet deep. The impact of his landing sent a small tsunami to slap Regulus down and splash off the stalagmites nearby.

Optimus slowly stood. He could hear his own breathing. It was the only sound other than the waterfall. Regulus brushed off some of the water with his free hand, his original hand, as he lay still on the stone floor.

Optimus growled the only question that came to mind. "Why are you here? I asked to be left alone."

He just lay there, staring at Optimus with wide optics. He stepped closer, bearing down over Regulus. "What do you want?"

He still didn't respond. "What is it! Speak, damn you! Or is my command worth nothing, now!?"

He stopped and sucked in a breath in shock.

He hadn't realized that _that_ was his fear until he'd said it. The others were working off their apparent fears in this messy debacle of a mission, but his would cause the most difficulty.

Optimus remembered one of Mercedes' first questions as a Transformer, _"What happens to me if I don't want to be part of a leadership?"_

She had a choice. They all had a choice. He didn't. What would happen to him if he failed as leader? Would the Matrix leave him? Would it…kill him? The answers to those questions weren't clear. He knew if he'd given the Matrix up at any time that he would go into stasis until a new leader was selected.

But what if he failed? What if the Matrix decided that there was another, more worthy candidate? If he hadn't done his best, tried his hardest, worked the most and watched over all of the others…

Like it seemed was happening now…

He shook his head and glared at the trembling mech laying before him. "Go back to the others, then. If everyone feels that it's better to keep _valuable_ information from me and work around me like some low-level cadet, then—"

"What! NO! I was just a clueless as you were about Mother. I had no idea they'd found out about her capture."

That seemed unlikely, but if it were true, "Then why are you here? If they didn't send you here to plea for them, then why…for all Sentience, why are you here!" He sliced a hand through the air and glared at Regulus.

He swallowed and lifted his other hand. The one with the claw. "I—I came to give you this."

Optimus blinked down at his son, confused. Regulus reached up and placed Megatron's memory core into Optimus' hand, pressing it tightly into his grip so it wouldn't fall. "What are you doing?" His spark beat electric pulses through his system, hissing at the water collected along his frame.

"It's yours, now. It's safe."

"What?"

And then he felt it. Warmth tingled up his wiring, traveling towards his core. Megatron's leadership. All his gained knowledge and power and understanding wormed its way through his sensors into the Matrix. It was…

Astounding. He didn't think…

Even faction leaders were leaders…this was interesting. He felt Megatron's restless energy and tactical experience synch to the Matrix, into him, one right after another. Too fast to latch onto, to make sense of.

When it was completed he looked around, reorienting himself. Well, at least he was getting practice at that. But wait.

The core. It was getting hot.

He stared in horror as Megatron's memory core flared aflame and disintegrated into ashes in his hand. The breeze from the waterfall blew pieces of the charred mass away.

No! He held both hands together, clinging to the last few dust particles, but it just sifted through his fingers. It didn't even reach the ground, but drifted off to become part of the cave…

He snatched at the last little crumbling bits. They poofed out of existence, as if they'd never been.

He looked at his now empty, shaking hands. Because they'd been wet, there was a little bit of ash still clinging in the joints.

It tore his spark to shreds.

His brother was truly gone now.

The enormity of this one event hit his processors all at once. Energon left his extremities almost immediately. He dropped to his knees.

It _hurt_. Not his knees, but the realization that…

Pain lodged in his throat and burned into his optics. He could no longer tell between the pounding sound of water, the thunder rumbling down upon them or his own labored breathing. He shook his head in denial, but there was none to be had. Megatron was truly gone, now. He let go the pain of holding back his tears and just…

Weeped. This final loss was just too much.

Gone…gone…gone…

Until then, there had always been some hope, some spark of possibility that he could bring him back. The Spark-shard, then Mercedes…

He'd hoped he could have his brother back. Like he'd been before he was Megatron…

Before the wars, before betrayal, before their separation…

Before everything.

When Optimus was just Orion and Megatron was just Ergaleio.

He shuddered into sobs, bending over and pounding his fist to the floor. Why?

Why did it have to be like this? He didn't understand. Maybe someone out there, better than he, would know. He took a deep, shuddering breath and roared his question to the universe:

"_WHY!_"

Of course there was no answer…

whywhywhywhywhywhywhy

Each time that tiny unanswerable question clicked through his mind, he beat the floor with his fist and sobbed all the harder.

A hand rested tentatively on his shoulder and he flinched. Regulus. What did he do to the core? Why did he give it to him? If he hadn't given it to Optimus, then there might still be a chance…

He reared up and pinned Regulus to the floor with a hand to each shoulder. "Why did you do that?" It didn't sound like his voice, even though he felt it grind through his vocal processor. He watched the fear in his son's eyes with guilt, but now a little bit of him relished in it.

Megatron…

"I—I—I—had to."

Optimus backed away from that…whatever it was…with caution. Had he inherited Megatron's lust for fear when he was bequeathed the leadership?

He pressed his hands to his knees, anything to keep from doing something he'd…

"Why did you have to?"

The sudden calm he felt was empty. It was hollow, like every emotion and thought for the past few days had been swept aside and locked away.

"I usually don't know why I do things. They just tell me they need to be done." He looked at Optimus with millions of questions swimming in his wet optics. "I'm sorry, Father. He said it was time to give it to you." There was no question as to who 'he' was. Megatron, of course.

A thought had Optimus narrowing his apertures at Regulus in suspicion. "What—what have you been doing with the core since you've had it?"

Regulus propped up on his elbows tentatively. One arm his own, one Megatron's. Optimus reached forward and touched the living memory of his brother. Regulus flinched.

He couldn't blame him. He picked up the claw, folding the hand into both his own, much like he'd done while speaking with Jazz outside. Before…

He made sure to gentle his demeanor. "What did you do to yourself?"

"It was nothing…nothing you wouldn't have done for any of us." He met his son's gaze in surprise. He was right, of course, but why would he take it upon himself to do such a thing?

He answered without Optimus having to ask. "I did it because I could. I'm the only one that could have…cleaned it." For the first time, he wondered at the possibility of Regulus being _made_ for such an eventuality.

After all, he was basically made from the Prophetess and the Matrix. Optimus felt a tremble of fear in his own spark. Was Regulus the next leader?

Was he staring at his fate?

He waited for something…anything…any kind of indicator that his fear would come true. The Matrix stayed still, silent. Except for a quiet acceptance, like he was right.

Regulus was the next leader, but not yet.

The knowledge settled like a strange comfort over him. He'd been doing enough. He'd done alright. He could breathe easier now.

Optimus stood, holding onto Regulus' firm hand, reaching for the fair one to pull him to his feet. When he was standing, he looked hard into his son's optics. "Go back to the others and tell them I'll be a bit longer. I've got a lot to think about and I need to be alone to do it. Please."

At his plea, Regulus nodded. He took a deep breath and looked over Optimus' shoulder at the waterfall. "It's beautiful." He gave him another look. Everything had changed now. Regulus may not know the details, but he felt the change. He could see it in his optics, the way he walked away.

Optimus would be there to guide him when the time came. He knew it now. It felt good.

He watched Regulus climb out of the room's opening, then turned and waded back into the water. He savored every eddy and swirl of the coldness caressing his legs. It washed away so much more than dirt.

The spray made little pings against his armor as he stepped closer to the curtain of water. He reached his hand forward and felt the power beat down, watched the void it created beneath. Closer. He let it pepper over his face, feeling the throng of sound as it reverberated through his body. He stepped completely through and saw a wall of rock just begging to be climbed. The water would make it difficult, but he felt the need to do it.

He started up.

He had to strain every cord, every wire, every joint to push up through the falling mass of water. It ran over him, through him, washing away the sand and insects and worries and guilt.

His hand slipped but he found purchase again, grabbing harder, digging into the rock, chipping away a small bit at a time. The water was cool against his worn fingers, soothing. Each step up was like he was leaving a little bit of his problems behind.

When he reached the top, it was difficult to gain grip for the rim of the hole was dirt and kept crumbling away. He finally pulled himself up and over the rim, taking mouthfuls of water many times along the way.

He rolled over on the ground, well above the cave floor, and stared into the sheets of rain flooding the desert. It looked like small harmless lasers aimed directly at him. He just lay there and let the rain pelt against him. It was peaceful.

He turned his head to the side.

Now, this he needed to see standing up, so he shoved himself to his feet and gaped in awe at the natural wonder around him.

Below the clouds, blazing like fire, was the Earth's Sun. It burned the clouds with crimson light.

Crimson against blue.

The rain looked like solid walls of blue in some places, against the golden sandstone buttes and mesas.

The sun burned and the rain kept falling.

He watched the sun set behind the mountains they'd traversed earlier today and the last little flare of light was golden, shooting up to the sky.

The rain lessened, then stopped.

The clouds went away and the veil of night crept up from the east. He could still see purple lightning illuminate the clouds.

Oddly enough, he was dripping wet, but the earth beneath his feet looked dry again.

He looked to the hole in the ground from which he came. It was just a hole. No rushing water. He knelt down and peered into the darkness below. Nothing.

He turned on his headlights. Water glinted below, but it was a calm pool at the base of glittering columns.

He smiled and stood up. He felt better now than he had in ages. With one final look to the fading light in the west, he made his way back to the encampment.

Time to deal with those pesky scientists. His smile only deepened as he quickened his pace.


	26. Chapter 26: Alignment

It had become full dark by the time he crested the side of the ridge that still held above the sinkhole where the dome's wreckage marked their previous…activities. Those activities were currently being retold by one of the scientists of the group who was actively gesturing his story.

"You should have seen it, while the big guy was tearing into the rocks, tossing them over his head like _toys_, the black one and the yellow one were shooting the boulders into a million bits before they could hit us. It was _awesome_! I tell ya, if they hadn't…been…there…"

It was rather amusing to see the humans shifting away in trepidation at the sight of Optimus stepping out of the darkness, rather than his previous experience where they stared in curiosity. This was more what he'd expected when they'd landed on Earth a month ago.

He shook his head to himself as Mercedes turned in her holoform to see why the human had broken off his recount. She started with her head, lovely chestnut hair sparkling in the bonfire's light, then turned the rest of her body to show welcome.

He looked around at the other Autobots. Bumblebee slightly perked his antennae at Optimus as he entered the light. He was sitting with Ironhide and their humans, who all looked up at Bumblebee, then to Optimus. Ah, there was the curiosity.

He looked for Ratchet. That mech was currently engrossed in conversation with one of the other scientists. It seemed they were talking about lasers. Ratchet demonstrated his on the ground behind them, then showed the mechanism inside his arm to the human.

Optimus smiled a bit. Of course his medical officer wouldn't be able to resist the opportunity to share information.

Regulus was standing apart from the group, partly in shadow. He nodded at Optimus but remained where he was.

Right now, all he wanted to do was sit and watch everyone, much like Regulus, but Mercedes caught his optic with her eye. She was leaning against her protoform, but instead of appearing casual, she looked rather tense. That must be due to her father's presence only a few paces away, a fact which she seemed to be trying to ignore. She motioned for Optimus to join the group.

_/Fold down so they're not so intimidated/_

_/Agreed/_

_/Well, I see you're still stuffy/_ She joked, but it didn't meet her eyes. She must be having difficulty relaxing with her father nearby.

He felt the urge to comfort her, but knew he couldn't do it in front of the other humans. _/Never for you, my love/_

She sent him a mental hug and smile. It felt wonderful. She'd been through so much and he knew without asking that she'd be right by his side, whatever else came their way.

He folded down and stepped closer to the bonfire.

Two males skittered away to stand on the other side of the fire. The female stayed, but shifted away a few steps. It was almost amusing.

Mercedes blinked out of her holoform and stepped towards him in her protoform, linking hands with his. That also got a laughably shocked reaction from the humans.

She took a deep breath and pulled him closer to the bonfire. "Guys, it's okay. He was just worried about me when he was tossing rocks earlier. He didn't really want to hurt you."

He looked askance at her. It was probably better they thought that. He was quite ready to squash a few humans if it meant getting her out of that cave.

He took a moment to think about that.

Huh. No guilt.

His conscience was in place, but the stifling guilt that had plagued him for millennia was just a ghostly echo of what it once was.

He didn't quite know what to think about that.

It felt good, but foreign.

_Thank you, brother._

_**Ha. It was in you all along.**_

He blinked. Did…did Megatron just…answer?

_Megatron?_

His query was met with silence. He shook his head a bit and focused on the humans in front of him.

Mercedes performed the introductions to the nervous group. "This is Optimus Prime. He's their leader."

A few looks of terror crossed some of the faces. Others looked understanding. Interesting. It now seems they understood, at least somewhat, the gravity of their actions. He returned their gazes steadily, each in turn. Most looked away first. Two didn't. One was a younger male who appeared just too damned curious to look away. He reminded Optimus of Sam in that regard. The other was Doctor Baker.

He made sure to show the full weight of his age through the stare. Once Optimus leveled _that_ stare on the doctor, the man looked over to the bonfire. He'd yet to meet a creature that could withstand that stare. Even Megatron had backed down under its weight.

_**I was usually trying not to laugh.**_

This time he wasn't so surprised at the interruption. _That's utter slag and you know it._

It was the first time they'd shared laughter, even if it was in his own head, in over thirty five thousand years.

Mercedes continued and pointed around the group. "The big black and silver one is Ironhide. He's their Second in Command and Weapons Specialist." Optimus shook off the moment and watched Ironhide, wary of what stunt he'd pull to introduce himself.

Thankfully he refrained from showing off. Optimus almost chuckled. It was obvious he wanted to, but one look from Maggie and he stayed where he was.

Again, mixed reactions from the humans. One or two even looked interested when Mercedes mentioned weapons.

"The yellow one is Bumblebee. He's the Scout of the group. Oh, and you should see the Camaro he turns into. It's pretty sweet."

Optimus raised an optic ridge at that. Sweet?

Bumblebee stood and imitated a human bow. "Thank you, Mercedes."

She laughed. "No problem."

He was glad Bumblebee had gotten her to laugh. She relaxed a bit against him. More of the humans were relaxing, as well. Bumblebee's display of manners was effective. Good.

"The chartreuse and red one—"

"Chartreuse? Is that what this color is?" Ratchet looked up from showing off his counter-rotation buzz saw. That particular piece of equipment was the fear of any mech, Autobot or Decepticon.

"Ratchet—" Mercedes chided him with a tone that was almost maternal. Optimus smiled as Ratchet continued.

"Well, it's not yellow and it's not green. My searches couldn't really find a name for the color. I thought I was special." He sounded mockly disappointed and drooped his shoulders a bit. Which was a real feat with all those bumper guards.

She sighed but smiled indulgently and shook her head. "Ratchet is their Chief Medical Officer. More like a mechanic to humans, but add a little Spock and Bones in there and there ya go."

That got more than a few chuckles. Some of the humans even decided to sit down. Excellent. He wanted them as agreeable as possible when they got ready to leave. They needed to figure out a way to keep them silent, take all their research, and leave them unharmed. It wouldn't be easy.

Bumblebee played a little Doctor Demento and that made even more of them smile.

He remembered the little skit he downloaded. Tae Kwan Leap. Haha. Boot to the head. Ha. He could think of a few things he'd like to give a boot to the head to. Starscream was one of them. He looked over to the blue heap of tarp just behind Regulus. It was utterly still.

Hmm.

Regulus cleared his throat and stepped closer. Mercedes looked as though she didn't want to introduce him. She glanced from Regulus to her father. Ah.

He opened his mouth to save the awkward situation, and so did she, but Regulus cleared his throat again and stepped into the light.

Baker didn't miss a thing. He whipped his head from Mercedes and Optimus over to Regulus.

Who was staring back at him intently. The human must have felt it, too, for he took a half step to the side and jumped back with a yelp. Too close to the bonfire. Optimus would have laughed, but Regulus's expression was interesting.

Did he detect a bit of malice in Regulus' gaze? He didn't blame him. Optimus was hard pressed not to step on the little man as it was.

Oh, did he really think that? Hmm. Still no guilt.

Very well.

He could get used to this.

"My name is Regulus. I'm the new guy here."

The other humans just accepted that, but the doctor looked suspicious.

"Don't look at him like that."

Both Regulus and the doctor turned to stare at Mercedes. She only had optics for the doctor. "You're not allowed to look at him like that."

"Like what?"

It was the first time Optimus heard the man speak. He seemed rather…pathetic…to have so cold-heartedly left his daughter in a psychiatric facility.

"Like he's your next meal-ticket."

What? Where did that come from? And Primus, she was laying on the malice thick. "Mercedes."

She rounded on Optimus. "What. He's not going to _touch_ Regulus. You don't know what he's like."

The little man rounded on Mercedes with a considerable more amount of anima than he seemed to have a moment before. "Now that's unfair. I've never _hurt_ you."

She narrowed her optics and scoffed. "Physically, maybe. But there are other ways to hurt people."

He looked ready to blow a gasket. "Like changing your name? Like leaving with no information whether or not you're even alive?" He kept glancing aside at his co-workers.

She jutted her chin and folded her arms. "Like locking me away in a dark room when you knew I was afraid of it. Like leaving me in a hospital to become some experiment and have total strangers hide from me because they think I'm a freak?"

He stepped towards her, showing the anger that would allow him to do such a thing. "I didn't ignore you. You—It's—a parent has a right to discipline his child."

Uh oh. This was escalating much too quickly.

"Right. So was it your affection or my misbehavior that had you leave me to fend for myself in that psych ward? I didn't even know I had the damned prosthetics in me, for Chrissakes! The fucking _nurse_ had to tell me I wasn't paralyzed, just _strapped down_!"

The only sounds were the crackling blaze and Mercedes' breathing. Optimus had to agree that was pretty inconsiderate of him to do that. No, not inconsiderate. Downright cruel.

The doctor recovered rather quickly. "That was…but I didn't leave you in that hospital to become an experiment."

She growled back at him. "Then what do _you_ call it?"

It was amazing how many similar expressions he and his daughter shared. His chin jutted out stubbornly. "I saved your life." The pathetic human actually looked pleased with himself.

She advanced, but Optimus grabbed her before she got too close. She settled for pointing in his face. "You kept me locked in that place to watch what your little toys did to me."

He stepped back out of her reach, but replied with renewed affront. "Those _toys_ were my life's work and I risked _everything_ convincing the board to perform that surgery. Why are you dredging all this up here, now?" He looked around to the other humans again. Was the little man so concerned with what his colleagues thought of him? More so than his own daughter?

Mercedes brought the point home with a near-yell. "Because you're not going to ruin _his_ life like you ruined _mine_."

Optimus supposed that arrogance was as much a mask with this human as confidence was in his daughter. "I will not apologize for deciding to save your life. I had no way of knowing you'd become…" He looked her over, faltering over the words, realizing that his next words may cause some very large aliens to be very angry with him.

She narrowed her optics and snatched her arm from Optimus' grip, lowering her voice to a deadly cadre. "What."

The group held its collective breath, knowing inherently that whatever he said next was important. The doctor blinked, flinging his hands around to search for words. Well, at least Optimus knew where she got that habit from. "…What happened? I didn't do this to you."

Optimus could practically hear her vocal keys grinding. "That doesn't matter."

Time to intervene. He hadn't intended to, but something wasn't adding up here and it was too close to an explosion between the two. He touched her shoulder nearest him. "Yes, it does, Mercedes." She tensed.

The doctor corrected him with admirable bravery, "Her name's Theresa," considering he'd fainted under Bumblebee's glare, the least intimidating member of his group.

She was ready with a prompt reply. "My name is Mercedes to them. _They're_ my family. Not you."

All of the Autobots took a step forward as if to protect her. Optimus had to admit, it had almost been a calling, which was very interesting. All the same, it was a bit harsh. There was something she kept forgetting.

Why didn't she see the simple facts of the situation? "Mercedes," he used her chosen name on purpose. She'd always be Mercedes to him. "He's your _father_." When she rounded on him with incredulous optics, he made a pointed glance at Regulus. "He saved your life." He looked back at her, lacing his gaze with every emotion he felt for her. "And he brought you to us."

He could tell she wanted to melt at that last look they shared, but she was so agitated. This was something she couldn't let go.

"Don't you see? I'm a random integer in this equation. I don't matter, here." She pointed to her father. "_He_ doesn't matter. This would have happened anyway. SHE wanted it to. It was why She sent Megatron to Earth with the All-Spark. She got it away from Omega's little brand of repeat-leadership and brought it here to restart…everything."

She put her hands on her hips and sighed, then looked back up at him. "How do you think you found out about Earth? She sent the message once she got into me. It just took that long to get to you."

She paced, clearly upset. "I'm only a wild card. He's just an instrument. We don't _matter_, Optimus. Not to what you guys have to do." She looked around at the others. "_What_ I've become matters, but not _who_ I am…or was." She cut her optics to where her father stood, dumbfounded.

Repeat-leadership? What did she know of this? What this the Intuition speaking? She'd obviously forgotten their synching when he showed her that it was _her_ and her alone that could've worked in this…equation, as she put it. "That's not entirely true. You don't really think this is just a coincidence, do you?"

"_He_ didn't bring me to you. SHE brought her plan together with her little anti-virus software _tentacles_." She made a cute little scrunching motion with her hands. "She's engineered this whole thing to cleanse that unstable glitch from your race…before he destroys everything." She looked startled at what she said. Which meant she'd had a revelation about Omega. Primus. Now was not the time to go into that.

Bumblebee decided to chime in. "Is she saying what I think she's saying?"

He had to keep the others from focusing on that right now. "I'm not sure…Mercedes, what did you mean by 'anti-virus software'?"

She stopped her pacing, confused. "What? _Her_. The Prophetess." She looked at him like he was daft.

He still needed clarification if he was to proceed accordingly. "The Prophetess is software?"

Ironhide harrumphed. "That's ridiculous. It doesn't make any sense."

Actually…"Yes it does."

Ironhide's mouth dropped open. "What? Optimus, you can't be serious."

"Why not? What keeps that from being true? Everything she says, fits."

Ratchet spoke up, though wary. "I suppose if you altered our entire concept of governmental control, it…_could_…"

Optimus sliced his hand through the air. "It _does_. It makes perfect sense. That makes everything so clear, now." He turned in a circle in wonder. "Of course! That's how she can travel from piece to piece!" He faced, "Dr. Baker."

Who stepped back, but made sure to steer clear of the fire. "…Yes?"

"Where did you get the material to create Mercedes' prosthetics?"

He gritted his teeth when Optimus used her chosen name, but responded. "That's classified—"

"Dad…" She sighed and dropped her head in her hand, covering half her face.

Baker stopped and looked at her. Optimus could see so many warring emotions in his face. Anger, sadness, hope, fear, hesitation…humans never ceased to amaze him in their complexity. No wonder the Prophetess chose here to…regroup.

Baker stared at the ground for a full minute, but then made his decision and looked at Optimus. "I don't really know. We were offered the product from the government as salvage from an old arctic expedition, but that was back in the Nineties. The military was 'cleaning house' so to speak, and the…material…was something to get rid of. We never knew where it originally came from."

Mercedes threw up her hands in disgust. "Great. It could have been Chernobyl offal for all you knew. And you put it in me. Good going, _Dad_."

He obviously took offense to that. "We did extensive tests to make sure of radiation levels. We even re-engineered it to make sure it was safe before using it for prosthetic research."

"So, it could easily have been anything. Even alien." She gestured to Optimus. It was almost funny when she looked back at him, apologetic.

_/No offense/_

_/None taken, my love/_

She sent a warmth of emotion through their synch. He sent one back.

Baker's attention went inward, remembering something. "Now that you mention it, we recorded a few glyphs off the original piece."

That caught Optimus' attention. "What did they look like?"

He withdrew a pad and pencil from his coat pocket and roughly sketched the Cybertronian glyphs for "Protect" and "Defend".

Those were etched on every officer in Optimus' cabinet. The only one to leave that cabinet was Megatron.

_Brother, it seems you're all around me._

_**And in you, too. Who'd have thought I'd be so prolific?**_

Even in his own thoughts, Megatron loved to mock Optimus. _That's not the right word for it._

_**Isn't it? **_Optimus shook the laughter out of his head. Megatron had left his legacy on everything he'd touched.

He stopped on that thought. What had Mercedes gained? Perhaps a certain dislike for her father?

On a hunch, he searched the internet for FDA rulings on human experimentation and submittal regulations. Ah, it was as he thought.

He looked at Baker with a different opinion of him. The little man was all bluff and arrogance. He might be inconsiderate, even hurtful, but he'd sacrificed a great deal to save her life after that accident.

"Mercedes?" She looked at him, wary at his tone. As she should be. "May I speak to you for a moment? Aside?"

"Um…yeah…"

He nodded at the group in general. "Excuse us, please."

The humans nodded almost comically. The Autobots just stood stoically. He pulled Mercedes off into the darkness. They walked a few paces, closer to the dome's wreckage. Out in the open as they were, the stars curved above like a bowl of sparkling lights.

"What's up?" She'd asked the question, but her attention was focused on the bright flame visible over Optimus' shoulder.

"Did you notice...anything different about your feelings for your father after the surgery?"

She glanced at him briefly, but looked back at the bonfire. "Um, yeah, I realized what an ass he is for making such a decision for me."

"What do you remember of your opinion of him from before the surgery?"

She looked at him like he was crazy and he thanked the Maker that his optics were able to see clearly in such dim light. She stopped and opened her mouth, shut it, then thought. "I don't re…member…"

"Nothing?" She looked like she'd rather be eating nails than talk about her father. It was actually rather cute.

She grumbled. "I think we were okay…"

"Do you remember talking to him after the accident at all?"

She looked confused. "Did I?"

He clarified. "I'm asking."

"Oh. Um…" At least she was trying to remember, and not dismissing his line of questioning. "I think so…I—yeah. We had a really bad argument." She looked perplexed. Interesting.

"Do you remember what it was about?"

"…no…but I remember him being really surprised, now that I think about it. Confused. I know I was." She blinked and turned optics to his. "Why?"

"I think that Megatron bequeathed a little bit of himself with that salvaged metal."

"Huh?"

"I think his hatred of our father has fed into you from the prosthetics."

"What? That's silly. You can't…well, I guess anything's possible…but, wouldn't She clean that up?"

He shook his head. "Not if the metal was tainted. She'd have to have resources and a separate conscience to carry that out."

"But once She was put in me…"

"Sending a signal to me would have taxed Her greatly. She may have decided it was an allowable sacrifice."

"Um…Okay. So maybe that's true, but my dad still did a lot of shitty things to me as a kid. Did your dad completely ignore you for his work?"

"My father was Second in Command to Omega when he was Atreus. Our culture is a bit different, since we don't have the same lifespan progression as humans do. I have no real comparison for what you must feel towards him, but I imagine things worsened after the surgery? When you think about your father, does the anger feel unreasonable?"

"Not really. Maybe. He's still an ass."

"Yes, but it seems incongruous that he would have mistreated you in ways that were so thoughtless, and then possibly sacrifice a career so important to him with an act that was entirely thoughtful."

She narrowed her optics at him. "_Thoughtful_? You think parking three huge chunks of alien metal in my broken and dying body was _thoughtful_?"

Yes. "Listen to yourself, Mercedes. What did he do?"

She looked at him like he was insane for asking such a question. "He used me to get a human experiment."

"That he can't legally use as documentation because you were not of age, not consenting, and a relative. Your government would never allow it."

"No, he was my guardian at the time. He was able to make the decision for me while I was unconscious."

"He couldn't have used that excuse to perform the surgery and submit it for human testing. His being your father and the scientist developing it removes that ability in the eyes of your government."

"No…no." She tried to back away, but he quickly grabbed onto her arms and held her close.

"Yes. He sacrificed a great deal. You owe him something of an apology…and I think I owe him an explanation."

Her optics flew up to his. "You'd really…?"

"Yes. Megatron was ultimately my responsibility. So are his actions."

_**Such a bleeding heart, dear brother.**_

_Always._

She mistook his wistful expression for something else and reached up to comfort him. "No, he's not. It's not."

He hugged her tightly. "That's part of being a leader, Mercedes. I take responsibility for my actions and those of my people."

She shook her head into the crook of his neck. "But he wasn't. He didn't…not really…"

"I hate to say it, my love, but you are really too young to fully understand…"

She reared back out of his embrace, but he held on. "Oh, now I'm too _young_? Well, I guess I am, compared to a few MILLION years, but c'mon, Optimus!"

He chuckled. She was adorable. He pulled her head back to his shoulder. "You're _mine_, that's what you are." He thought about what she'd said earlier at the bonfire. "And you're not some random integer, here. I have a distinct feeling that the Prophetess didn't spend so long on Earth dormant, only to attempt contact randomly through you. She was here longer than the human race, Mercedes. Think about that. For that matter, she could have been the reason your race evolved."

She looked up at him. "Hang on a sec, bub. I don't know about all that. Do you guys even have religion?"

He quirked an optic ridge at her dubious expression. "Don't you think we have enough to worry about right now?"

She nodded and acquiesced into his embrace. He felt her hands wander over the folded metal of his back.

"What are we going to do now?"

He held on to her, not wanting to let go of the moment.

He knew they needed to keep moving. There would be hell to pay, as Mercedes would say, when Starscream came back online unless they found a more secure way of restraining him than the rope and tarp from the flatbed.

"We take one step at a time and do what we must. We have to find out what Starscream knows, and that reminds me." He backed away from her a bit, still holding her in the embrace.

"What's that?"

"What about your friend who was supposed to email you when something entered the atmosphere?"

An annoyed and slightly devilish expression crossed her face. "Christopher? Yeah, I ripped him a new one while you were unconscious. He was caught messing around in the observatory again and was banned for a week. Great timing, huh?"

He tried out the expression. "Ripped him a new one, eh?" That certainly brought interesting visuals to mind.

She smiled. "Yeah. Both ways."

He playfully winced. "Ouch."

"You betcha." She snuggled into his neck.

He remembered something else he needed to ask her. "How did you get out of the cave?"

She paused long enough for him to wonder if she was going to answer, then, "Ratchet told me it coincided with some kind of blue light that streaked out during the earthquake. All I remember is one minute I was practically vibrating with echoes and the next…poof. I was stung awake by Ratchet's scanner."

He chuckled at that. Well, at least he wasn't picky about who he stung with that scan.

After a few moments of just holding each other, she spoke up again. "Optimus?"

"Yes?" He slid a hand over one of her doors, arranged in wing formation down her back. She shivered.

"Did you really go all crazy to get to me down there?"

He turned his head to see what she was looking at. The sinkhole was a great wreckage with rubble pilled everywhere. Wrenched metal, broken glass, and what looked like a lifetime's worth of work put into a research facility had been decimated by his efforts to get to her. The cave entrance was visible as a dark spot above a pile of clawed and pulverized rock. It was almost something to be proud of, so spectacular was the devastation. He remembered his desperation.

He held her tighter. "Yes. I'd do it again. I told you I'd never leave you."

She was quiet for a moment, then whispered, "Thank you."

They stood there for a few moments, soaking in the emotions and darkness. A devilish thought occurred to him and he reached down to pick her up and cradle her in both his arms.

She giggled. He wanted to hear more of that. He nuzzled her neck-cord, the one that reminded her of guitar strings. She shuddered. "Oh, do that again."

He smiled and said the one thing that came to mind. The one phrase that started it all for him. For it hadn't been her power or her abilities that had drawn him to her. It was that one little phrase…

"Boy, do I want to."

The End...sort of...

* * *

A/N: 8/11/08: So, my friends, ends this leg of the story. I will continue this story, but under a different POV (Ratchet's, most likely). I know there are a lot of questions left unanswered, but be patient! All will be revealed in due time! I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. It's my first complete 'novella'! Yay! So I'm going back to edit the chapters one by one, to make the story flow a bit better.

Thanks to all of you for reading!

Dena


	27. Chapter 27: Bonus! First Encounter

A/N: Okay, I just couldn't stand leaving a story titled Prime's Number with a non-prime amount of chapters! So, y'all get a Bonus! yay! It's short, but fun. Hope you like it!

* * *

Ironhide said they had an intruder, but he imagined someone who looked a bit more…threatening. Not this small female human hiding in the shrubbery. She was pretending he couldn't see her and hid behind a conifer.

He sighed a bit and knelt down closer to the ground.

"What are you doing? Who are you?"

She must have jumped several inches off the ground at the sound of his voice. He'd made sure moderate his tone, but she'd still been startled. Something about her made him not want to scare her off.

"I—" She stepped out of the shrubbery and faced him with an interesting mix of emotion on her face. Curiosity was an apparently standard reaction amongst humans, but the only word he could think of to describe what else he saw was…hunger.

She continued, stuttering. "I was…" He sensed an increase in hormones. How… "Big."

He angled his head at her in puzzlement. Was she even intelligent? Stating the obvious would get her nowhere. And then she did the oddest thing, something he'd only seen Mikaela Banes do…shed tears.

Was she afraid? Was she injured? Why was she smiling through those tears?

_/Ratchet, can you scan her to see if she's operational?/_

He stepped up beside Optimus and leaned over the woman. _/I'm afraid that might not work with organics/_

She looked from Ratchet to Optimus with a rapid succession of blinking, then settled with a big smile at Optimus.

"I'm…Mercedes. Who are you?"

"I am Optimus Prime." He'd been prepared to go into explanation when her mouth dropped open as if…as if she knew his name. He looked at Ratchet and back to her. This was strange.

Then she fainted. Very strange.

"Organics are strange creatures." Ratchet stepped closer to reach for her, but Optimus beat him to it.

"I'll get her." Why, he didn't know, but something…pulled…about her. That and he somehow felt responsible for her offlining. He very gingerly placed one hand on the ground next to her and gently pushed her body onto it with the other.

She was older than Mikaela. Softer. A few units heavier, but not by much. She was…warm.

Hmm.

He walked back over to the campfire Sam, Mikaela, Maggie and Glen had convinced Bumblebee and Ironhide to set up. Where to put her?

She _certainly_ couldn't stay in his hand all night.

He decided on an open piece of ground behind a log the humans were sitting on.

"Is she okay?"

"Who is she?"

"Will we have to silence her?"

"Glen, would you shut it?"

"I'm sure she'll be fine once she comes back online. She said her name is Mercedes. And I do not believe we'll have to 'silence' her." He slowly rolled her off his palm with the help of Sam and Maggie. "Thank you."

As soon as they laid her on the ground, though, she awoke with a start. _"Whozzatimunnaugottastop_!" She thrashed enough to where they had to drop her. "Oof!"

Sam held up his hands in mock surrender. "Whoa! Easy, lady, we're trying to help."

"Where…oh." She'd looked around and spotted Optimus hovering above her. "Hi."

"Hello."

She sat up and noticed Ironhide and Bumblebee a few paces away. She turned from them to Ratchet and back to Optimus. "So…long trip?"

His vocabulator dropped completely open. Ironhide charged forward. "What do you know of that?"

"Ack!" She actually climbed on Optimus' foot.

She'd come to him for protection?

This was extremely odd. What did she know of them? Of him? He looked from her over to Ironhide and shrugged, palms out.

"C'mon, Hide, you've scared the dickens out of her." Maggie chided Ironhide over her shoulder and walked up to the new female. "It's okay, they won't hurt you."

Ironhide snorted. "Just give me a reason."

"Ironhide, come off it!" Maggie sighed, rolled her eyes, and looked up at Optimus. "Can you put a leash on him or something?"

"What? I'm not some canine to be restrained!"

"Then stop acting like a junkyard dog and leave the poor girl alone."

Optimus looked at his now Second in Command. "Ironhide, I'm sure there's an explanation, but she needs a chance to give it."

Maggie helped the woman off his foot. She and Mikaela flanked her as they sat on the log. "Now. What do you know about these guys?"

"Um…nothing really. I—I just overheard your conversations." She kept looking over her shoulder back at Optimus.

Hmm. He supposed that it might have been shock on her face at the mention of his name. And perhaps she was intelligent enough to know they were at least not from around here, thus the 'long trip' comment.

Possibly. Certainly a more likely explanation than her actually knowing something about them.

He decided to step back a few paces and let the humans converse. Within hearing range, of course.

* * *

"You guys are entirely too stuffy. Bee! My man! Help me out here, I need some tunes!"

Bumblebee looked from an over-excited Glen to Optimus. "Did he just ask me for a tune-up?"

He chuckled at bit, "I hope not."

Sam explained with more than his fair share of laughter. "No, no, Bumblebee, he means he wants you to play some music for us."

"Ah." The yellow scout seemed to think about that for a moment. "Alright, what kind, Glen?"

"Yes! You know what we need? Somethin' you can dance to! I bet you guys got some sweet moves."

Bumblebee quirked an optic ridge at Optimus. He returned an uncertain expression. If this was what was meant by socializing with the humans, then so be it. His music searches had proven…interesting.

The scout shrugged a shoulder and tuned in to a local radio station. Optimus could barely make out the words, much less understand the cacophony blasting through Bumblebee's speakers.

But the humans seemed to enjoy it. He shook his head and turned back to planning with Ratchet. They needed to anticipate Starscream's return and who he might be arriving with.

/We need someone to watch the skies. Someone who knows the stars at this angle. This atmosphere is incredibly thick, I don't know how they breathe/

He nodded, but his attention was focused on the humans. Glen had convinced Mercedes to get up and dance with the rest of them. Sam and Mikaela were performing something akin to a mating ritual, Glen had been bouncing around with his hands in the air and Maggie had been alternately laughing and wiggling.

Optimus watched the newest addition to their camp wiggle around with Mikaela and Maggie, now.

Oh, well, wiggle might have been a poor choice of word. Undulate was more like it.

She tossed her hair around like a banner. He wanted to touch it. That alone was strange. He'd never wanted to touch a human out of curiosity before. What would it feel like? He regretted not taking more note of her textures when she was in his hand. It looked like fine filament and shone in the firelight.

She brought her hands up to both sides of her head and ran them through her hair. He just stared.

He needed to stop. This was strange…not normal…not Autobot.

What would the others think? What _did_ they think? He looked around.

Ironhide was tapping his foot, but had his arms crossed. Ratchet had decided to abandon the conversation Optimus was obviously not paying attention to and was currently fiddling with something called a tent for the humans.

He heard a snap. "Aw, slag it!"

Optimus sighed. There went the tent.

He couldn't stop looking at her, though, even out of his peripheral vision. Her hips swung like bells, clanging in his head. Transformers couldn't really move that fluidly.

It was hypnotizing.

It was terrifying.

* * *


	28. Chapter 28: Bonus! Interviews Part 1

_This Author has taken it incumbent upon her to interview her characters as well as those not hers for posterity, if not prosperity._

_It seems that this journey has left a few of the Transformers rather confused as to what's happening next, as well as their roles in my stories. So, we shall interview them to help clarify a few concerns of mine, theirs, and maybe yours._

.o

I sit neatly in a folding field chair I brought with me. Not much for humans to sit on in the Autobot's base. I take out my pen and paper and look thoughtfully at the large…really large robot sitting in front of me.

"Optimus, you took a rather large role in this story."

He shifts around a bit in his oversized seat, looking around for (quite possibly) an escape route. "I have."

I continue, doing my best Connie Chung impression. "What do you think you've gained from this experience?"

"Well, I…" He clears his throat, which is still amazing to me. "I'd say seeing my team take initiative and perform tasks that, to some transformers, might seem beneath them is somewhat satisfying."

Mercedes leaned in and elbowed him in the side. "Oof! What was that for?"

She ticked of her reasons with fingers. "A: You're being stuffy again and B: That's not the question she asked."

He looked rather adorable, confused. "Yes it is."

She stared back, dubiously. "Op, honey, is that what you've _gained_ from this debacle of experience?"

I clear my throat, now. "Well, I don't think it was a debacle."

Mercedes throws a warning glance at me. Ah. This author has still not learned to shut up and listen to her characters. I am duly reminded and smile back at her.

He blinks while Mercedes looks at him expectantly. He seems to be fishing for the 'correct' answer, rather than answering the question. Hmm. "Well, I gained you, Mercedes. And Regulus."

She arched an optic ridge. "Anything else?"

"M-Megatron."

I perk up. "Yes, what about Megatron?"

Mercedes looks ready to throw something at me other than a warning glance. I bite my lips together and sit back.

"What have you learned about yourself? What did this…sequence of events make you realize?"

"You mean, like a moral to the story?"

"Something like that."

"Ah. Well, yes. It's nice to not feel so guilty about everything anymore. Knowing my team can handle things without me, but that my time isn't up as Prime…and knowing who the next Prime is…" He looks introspective. "It is a great comfort."

She flails her hands about and almost smacks Optimus, who jerks backwards. "Gah! Darling, that's so wonderfully poignant and sweet, but you have a habit of talking around the issue." She turns to look at me. "What he means to say is that he's capable of relaxing now that he realizes the burden of Prime isn't completely his to carry and that it should never have been one bot's burden in the first place."

He looks a bit indignant at that. "There's a reason why a Prime is selected and given the Matrix, Mercedes. The Transformers need someone to guide them with the lessons from the past through the wilderness of the future."

She looks a little gaga at him, so I clear my throat…again.

"Lovely, really. Now. Again, what about Megatron? Is it true that he talks to you?"

He whips his head back to Mercedes. "How did she find out about that? I didn't tell anyone but you and…Ratchet!" I had no idea Transformers could snap. Hm.

Optimus peers closely at me. "Have you already talked to him?"

"Um, no. I'm the author, remember? I wrote this stuff."

Optimus wants to believe otherwise. "I knew it." He rears back and bellows, "Ratchet! Get your sorry aft in here!"

Mercedes shakes her head at Optimus. "I can't believe he'd tell something like that to a total stranger."

This is getting silly. I cross my arms. "I'm not a total stranger, in fact, I made you."

"What? Oh, great. She's nuts!"

Ratchet takes that moment to traipse through the bay doors. "You hollered, Optimus?"

"Did you tell anyone about…you know who…talking to me?"

He's obviously shocked that it would be mentioned and looks over to me. "No, sir. I wouldn't dare. You said it was top secret."

"Then how do you explain this human knowing about it?" He actually points. I'm about to fall out of the chair laughing.

Ratchet narrows his optics at me. "Sir, I can't allow for spies among us. Most likely, Starscream overheard in the med bay when we thought he was unconscious."

Sputtering, I try to explain as calmly as possible. "Look, I'm the author. I made it up. I haven't even gotten into writing Starscream that much yet." Not that I don't want to, but first things first, you know.

Optimus doesn't like what he hears. "Riding him!? He's not allowed out of the med bay, much less off base to go for a joy-ride."

In which case I'm literally convulsing in holding back my laughter. "NO! No, guys, chill. Write. With a T, not a D." Ah, who needs typos when you've got a mouth?

"He's not allowed correspondence either."

Ah Geez. "Ok. Can we just get back to the interview, then?"

Mercedes breaks in. "You don't need an interview if you're the author. You can just make it up."

"Oh-ho! So you were just screwing around with me? Great. You know, you guys just might wish to be a bit more accommodating, here. I have the ability to make this next story very nasty, indeed."

Optimus snorts. "What else could you possibly put me through?"

I grin devilishly. "Well, there's still the relationship with Mercedes' father to resolve…not to mention Omega hitting town and you know what, Mister Prime?"

He was most definitely shifting uncomfortably in his seat now. Mercedes was glaring daggers at me. Ratchet looked a bit afraid. Good.

Optimus stilled enough to notice I was waiting for his answer. "What."

"You're not even the focus of the next story."

"What do you mean? How could I not be? You can't change out the story like that."

"Oh, don't worry, you'll be there in places. I've got more…torture…waiting in the wings for you. But my focus will be on Ratchet." Ah, yes…the torture…yum…

Ratchet must see the gleam in my eyes. He must, or he wouldn't take such a big step backwards. "Huh?"

"You."

He looks over to Optimus and Mercedes, back to the doors, and then over to me. "Um…no thank you?"

My grin just gets bigger. "Oh, come on, I think it'll be fun."

He starts backing towards the door. "I'd really rather not. I've got to go interrogate Starscream, so if you'll excuse me."

He stops as soon as he hears me reply.

"I'll see you soon, Hatchet."

"What!?" He stares at me, optics wide.

I smile innocently. He runs. Great, loud _Ka-thunks_ could be heard all the way to the medbay.

I swerve my attention back to my captives—er—interviewees. "Now. Where were we?"

Mercedes looks confused and scared. Yay. "Um. You were finishing up your interview."

I laugh. "Oh, it's not that easy, my friends. I want to talk to Megatron."

Optimus shakes his head like a five-year-old. "No."

I arch a brow. "Shouldn't you be asking him?"

"That was his answer." Oh, baloney.

"Why is it I'm having a hard time believing you?"

"I can't help it if you have trust issues."

I laugh. "Megatron, it must be taxing to live inside someone so completely different than yourself."

I see warring thoughts play out on his face. "We're not that different."

I smirk. "Is that what he said?"

"…No." Ha ha! Honest-streak wins out.

I arch my brow, waiting.

"He said, 'You have no idea.'" Which of course he grumbles at me.

I grin. "I thought so. How is it in bed?" Sneak Attack!

"Excuse me?"

Redirection. "With Megatron listening in?"

Mercedes looks at both of us. "He doesn't…does he?"

I swear I think he's blushing. "I—well, sometimes. I can't really control when he listens in."

"He _listens_? Oh great. He probably tells you things to do, too, doesn't he?"

Optimus looks a bit guilty. "Nothing you haven't liked so far."

I lean in. This is getting juicy.

"I haven't…? _So far_? You mean when you did the—with the—" He nodded. She sat down. "I should have known you wouldn't come up with _that._" She looked amazingly human in her distress. "Anything else I didn't know about?"

"No, well. I mean…no."

"What? That wasn't very definite."

"Regardless of whether or not I have running commentary and suggestions, everything we do together is still us. Just us."

"Gah! This is like some crazy Menage a Trois! Only the third person doesn't have a body!"

They're clearly in distress and need some…time…to patch things up. I step out into the hallway discreetly and let them have their fun.

The base is rather nice, now. The task force assigned to the abandoned military complex has been busy. Hmm. I think the med bay should be to the…left, so there I go.

Ah, so convenient to be a writer! There's a perfect-height window with a great view of what's going on in the medbay. And I'm not a moment too soon.

For Hatch—I mean Ratchet (smiling to myself) has just sat down at his desk, facing the restrained Starscream. And when I say restrained, I mean rrrrestrained.

He'd be real happy about now if he were into that kind of thing. And from the looks on their faces, I'm not so sure he's not. Aaaahh. _Plot Bunny._


	29. Chapter 29: Bonus! Interviews Part 2

I love Plot Bunnies. They are fruitful and multiply. They gather and make little happy grunting noises and hop around my feet while I watch the two mechs…interact…through the window in front of me.

Ratchet has ingeniously fashioned a reclining, swiveling chair from an old supply wagon. Hmm. That idea must be from when Mikaela hitched Bee to the tow truck. Not bad.

He's leaning back, creaking the chair a bit, rocking back and forth.

I smile. Good intimidation noise.

Starscream tries to look "up" over his head from where he's…er…lying down on a berth. He's positioned just so that Ratchet is behind his head. His wings stop him from leaning too far back, so naturally I'm delighted. He rumbles something in Cybertronian which makes Ratchet look up.

He slowly leans forward in the chair, drawing out the metallic groaning. Oh, I can just imagine what that's alluding to! Lovely!

I squeal softly to myself as Starscream thrashes a bit and yells something at Ratchet in that frenetic language of theirs. Eee! It's like Valentine's Day! I mean, uh, yeah…

Ratchet actually laughs a bit and plants his feet firmly on the ground. He stands, leaning on the chair for more sound effects, then slowly starts forward, stomping each step just hard enough and slow enough to be irritating.

He approaches the berth and leans over Starscream's head from behind.

The seeker lurches up in his bonds and snaps what seem to be teeth at Ratchet.

Oooh! Whatta grin Ratchet's got! If he's enjoying this so much, then why was he so petrified to be the focus in the next story?

Nevermind, he's articulating his counter-rotation blade. Each little slide and click of section of blade is deliciously heard, echoing through the metal and concrete room. Oh, how wonderfully…deliberate.

"What are you doing?" A deep voice rumbles around me.

Huh? Where'd that come from? I look left, right, and then…

"Who are you?"

Up.

Oh. Oops. Regulus is looking down at me. I wave.

"Hi. I'm the author. Please let me watch. He's just getting to the good part."

Regulus looks behind him to Ironhide and as I turn my head a bit more, I can see the reflection of Bumblebee in the glass. Wow, all three. Hubba hubba!

"Good part of what?" Crap. He looks suspicious.

"He's interrogating Starscream. He just opened up his buzz-saw." I point, grin and peer back into the glass, into the room with a slightly scared, slightly excited Starscream writhing around in his rrrrrestraints. Rrrrrrr.

What the—"Ack! Put me down!" Regulus actually picked me up. Crap! And so not in the way I'd like! I wiggle and squirm. "Gah! Let go!"

"Nope, you're leaving now."

Shit. There's nothing to bite. How am I supposed to defend myself? Aha! Lightbulb! I think really quick of something rather fun and a Plot Bunny pops into existence on Regulus' thumb. "C'mere, cutie."

I scoop it up, grab its ears and sling it at Reggie's head, smacking him dead in the eye where my little Plot Bunny dissipates into glitter.

"Oof!" I say as I hit the ground.

"Gah!" He says as he fights the glitter cloud. "Get it off, get it off!" Hee hee! The more he fans the glitter, the more it gets caught up inside his armor.

Pretty soon, Ironhide and Bee both start spurting laughter and pointing. Pretty much what I'm doing.

He finally gets rid of most of the glitter (from his face) and glares at me. Then, he has an apparently disturbing thought, for he whips around to stare at Ironhide and back at me.

"His data cable?"

I grin. Evilly. "Uh-huh."

He stares, bug-opticed (okay, you think of a better way to say it) at Ironhide and then looks to Bee, then back to me. "No way."

"What?" Bee is confused, understandably so.

"What are you talking about?" Ironhide looks as if he's not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

I nod and grin. "Yes way."

"But it's too big to fit…um…well, I guess if the other…GAH!" He slaps his hands over his optics.

"Regs, what the slag are you rambling about?" Ironhide is really curious at this point.

Regulus apparently decides to let me use my surprise for later. "Um…nothing. Listen, Miss, we can't just leave you here. You need to leave."

I cross my arms. "Nope. I'm going to watch the fun in that room behind me and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

Oh, I should have known Ironhide would love a challenge. "You think so, eh?"

"I know so."

He's pretty good at that whole intimidation thing…"What if we just grabbed you and squished you?"

"What if I do this?" I grab a couple of little Plot Bunnies by the ears, one in each hand. Reggie backs away a step.

"Heh, a little rabbit isn't going to hurt me."

"Haha, wanna bet?"

"Ironhide, you really don't want one of those."

I see his intent before he takes a step. I feint to the left, then sling both Bunnies from one hand at Ironhide. One pegs him in the face and bounces over to Regulus, who trips over it and falls flat on his aft.

The other wasn't so lucky. Or at least Ironhide wasn't so lucky. The other little Bunny lands on his neck, slides down into his armor, bounces around a bit while apparently tickling Ironhide (much to my glee). Somewhere around his midsection, the bunny decides to take a detour and hops around his waist plate to his aft, races down his leg, and runs to a rapidly crabbing and screaming Regulus where it then does a flying leap onto his crotch and disappears into more glitter.

"Crap, why do I have to get the glitter?!"

I'm of course giggling uncontrollably with my den of Baby Plot Bunnies hopping around me on the ground.

Once Regulus and Ironhide gain a bit more peace of mind, they stare at each other with realization of what my little babies have shown them.

Then with utter shock and disbelief written all over their faces, they turn to stare, mouths agape, at Bee.

His antennae drop, he steps back with his hands out and says, "What."

I turn back to the window and watch Ratchet, happy to know I've just intimidated the hell out of giant alien robots. Glee!

* * *

_**A/N: thanks for the wonderful responses, everyone! This is the most definite final chapter in Prime's Number, soon to be continued with Ratchetricity later in the fall. I hope you've had fun and look forward to enjoying all those little Plot Bunnies out there! :D**_


	30. Chapter 30: Crescendo Oronis

_A/N: I've rewritten Prime's Number to be it's own story! I took out all the Transformers stuff, but kept the essence of the story and renamed it __**Crescendo Oronis.**_

_Go to www. authonomy .com, register (for free) and start reading! It's a great site for new work and you might find a new favorite author before they even get published. Of course, I'd love it if you came and "backed" my book. It costs nothing but time, so what are you waiting for? ;)_

**Crescendo Oronis: Chapter 1**

**___**

"With that in mind, we respectfully request clearance to drill for reserve fuel in the Xenchi District."

It was a common request, one he'd heard from Machinists for many years now. What was different about this one? "Show me where on the map." Oronis waved towards the center court with a metallic hand, scales rippling in a minor show of anticipation.

Machinist Killom signaled to his assistant to light the holographic projection in the middle of the circle. He tapped a quadrant in the southeastern section and zoomed in. With a gesture, he recentered the image, making it topographically dimensional. "Here." He circled a depression between two mountains with sparse vegetation and layered the map to reveal heat indications. "Our research has shown that there is a mass of high-grade, refinable fuel beneath this valley…here and…here. Seismology indicates there is little chance of activity if we stay above three thousand clicks. As you can see…"

He let the delegate drone on while he examined the implications. This time it might actually result in benefiting his people instead of causing a public outcry. Their very lives depended on refinable fuel, but so little of it was left in the common drilling fields. Unless he wanted to indebt himself to his brother's rebel faction for their access to Cerhain --the richest fuel depository they'd found to date--they needed a viable solution and fast. Linst was popping up at every corner around the Government Complex, asking for access to someone else's reserves. The problem was, every time the Retrofit Vendor asked him, he had a harder time saying 'no'. Especially since there was the possibility on the distant and growing ever closer horizon that the everyday needs for fuel would need allotment. So much of their culture relied on it for energy. Unfortunately, no one was willing to share reserves without compromising political favor. Drilling for more in a new location was their only hope at this point, especially since Ergaleio's last siege had pushed their economy into a rationing mindset.

This drilling site was right on the cusp of Holy Ground, but far enough away that even minor seismic activity wouldn't affect it. It might even bring more trade to the area. Sentience above, they could use the influx of credits in that region anyway. Finally, some leeway.

He glanced over to his Second Councilor in time to see him nod almost imperceptibly to himself. That was enough to fix his decision. "Done. Kaedox, have the papers drawn up." Oronis watched him leave, then turned in his seat to pierce Killom with a grave expression. "Keep in mind, Machinist, should you venture even a digit into the Holy Ground, I shall revoke not only your permit, but all your drilling licenses. There are plenty more vendors willing to vie for your particular wedge in the market."

He hated the alarm that leapt to Killom's eyes, but it was a necessary measure. The smaller Densatos' plating shivered a bit in front of his audios. "Y-yes, Commander. We are fully aware of the implications of such a disgraceful action."

"Good, have your—"

A door slammed against the metal wall before he could finish his sentence, sparking against the sound-cancelling energy field with a loud ping that stunned his hearing for a moment. What he heard from a muffled voice was, "Commander! Quickly!"

Oronis turned, irritation slicking his dermaplating back against his head. The Information Officer knew better than to barge in on him like this. "Platreus? I'm almost done—"

He looked like he'd been running…"It's Ergaleio."

The leader felt fuel leach away from this face, tiny scales rippling down his back. "Machinist you may leave us." Oronis felt like rushing out of the court, but instead stepped sedately down from the dais and walked towards Platreus. Commanders never showed such a weakness as to run, but his brother… His eye shields fluttered a small amount. "What is it?"

Platreus waited until the delegate closed the door, nodded at something over Oronis' shoulder, then met him eye to eye. "He's…he's gone."

Their gaze interlocked, flickered, then locked again. There was a shuddering sound as his scales racked nervously across his shoulders. Platreus watched the unusual reaction with surprise and promptly clarified. "He can't be found anywhere, Sir. We've searched the region, used his homing signature, we can't even find him on the planet."

Oronis clenched his fists at his sides, then slid them behind his back to entwine in a more dignified manner as he watched his Information Officer carefully. They'd known Ergaleio had been building up some kind of trouble—more than he normally caused—due to the fact that it had lately been too quiet. Even as leaders in warring factions, there had always been at least a cursory contact between them. They may have been of different opinions on how their small planet should be run, but even then…neither of them had fled the planet for it.

He felt like slapping his forehead. "How many did he take with him?" Oh, it would be bad. Half their population migrating outwards… They'd nearly destroyed K-97 in a migration attempt four hundred years ago. It was forbidden by their law…his own law. He'd have to execute…someone. He flinched. Four thousand? Five? There would be no hiding this.

"None."

Oronis blinked. Surprise left him mouthing "None" twice before verbally repeating it as a relieved question. Platreus nodded, visibly relaxing. Were they that wary of his reactions to his brother? His eyes narrowed slightly. "How long?" They started moving towards Oronis' private chambers where there was a direct communications platform to Ergaleio within a certain range. He could be close by, still. Please let him still be on the planet. That law covered unlawful Gating as well…

Platreus' answer was no comfort. "We estimate from the increased activity in his faction that he's been gone about forty-five degrees gnomonic." Dammit, long enough to be out of range. Platreus' expression was hestitant.

Dammit. "What else?" He wouldn't look at him. "What else, Platreus?" Oronis twisted his neck to catch full view of his face. What was the problem? He wasn't that touchy about Ergaleio…was he?

Platreus finally met his eyes again, reluctance etched into every seam of his features. "Our agent found his quarters ransacked. Everything was dismantled but no sign of your brother."

Oronis started running. Propriety be damned, just what in the abysmal depths of nothingness did his brother get himself into?

The information officer ran with him. "Sir! Sir, I know it sounds bad, but we don't know whether or not it was his own doings that caused the mess our agent found."

"Oronis, don't jump to conclusions, perhaps there's a good explanation."

Wait, that came from behind them…"Kaedox?" They stopped just outside his chamber doors and looked back at the councilor . "How long have you been listening?"

He gazed at Oronis with the clarity and calm he'd come to expect. "Long enough to know you're probably jumping to conclusions. Why would the leader of the largest opposing militaristic faction just up and leave his men in such a manner? Ask yourself how out of character this is, then think about the possibility that he just doesn't want to be found." Kaedox finished his line of questioning with a hard and accusing look at Platreus.

He bristled under the scrutiny. "I'm merely stating the obvious. If you look at all possible answers, this is the most likely. In order to 'hide' from our scanners he'd have to either retreat ten thousand clicks beneath the surface or leave the planet. Being leader of said largest militaristic faction, it's much more likely he'd have access to the Gate than the caverns beneath the Holy Ground we control."

They stared at each other, both unwilling to bend. Oronis knew they both had points, but which was right? Ergaleio was certainly arrogant enough to traverse the Holy Ground. It just didn't make sense for him to disappear. Kaedox must be right, but Platreus never came to him making claims without evidence…"Platreus, can you tell me if there was enough fuel draw to activate the Gate?"

"There was a significant pull earlier today, I'll look into how much and exactly when." He nodded and turned to enter his chambers, entering the key sequence and extracting the key from his finger. The doors slid open with an odd clutter and something rolled out onto his foot, tapping once and bouncing off. It looked like part of his communications platform, but that was all the way across the room…

He looked up. His room…

"Bright Sentience! Oronis?" Kaedox' exclamation bumped Oronis out of the shock caused by the sight of his dismantled room.

He turned to see both his councilors with matching dumbfounded expressions, then entered the warzone of his first chamber. He scanned the space, then closed his mouth. Control was of utmost importance. "Platreus, get Janach up here. We need to find out how whoever did this got in and why we didn't know about it."

Oronis' answer was rapidly retreating footsteps down the corridor. He gingerly peeked around a corner of wall, taking in the wreck before him. All of his datapads, his personal affects, his berth… destroyed. "Dox?"

"Yes?"

"Tell me there's still a chance that Ergaleio's still on this planet." He picked up a tangled ribbon of wire and stared at it.

"There isn't."

"Dammit."

He dropped the wire back onto the floor, closed the door on his rooms and awaited his chief of security to arrive. There was no question he'd go after his brother. The only questions now were where and why…


End file.
